92 

Social  Evils  of  the 
> ^ Non=Christian  World 

Oak  Street 
UNCLASSIFIED 


REV.  JAMES  S.  DENNIS,  D.D. 


; 


Social  Evils  of  the  Non-Christian  World 


Delegates  Attending  United  Presbyterian  Jubilee,  Scotland,  189 7. 


Social  Evils 

of  the 

Non-Christian  World 


BY  THE 


REV.  JAMES  S.  DENNIS,  D.D. 

Students’  Lecturer  on  Missions^  Princeton,  1893  and  1896;  Author  of 
Missions  After  a Century;”  Member  of  the  American 
Presbyterian  Mission,  Beirut,  Syria 


New  York 

Student  Volunteer  Movement  for 
Foreign  Missions 

1899 


“ Foreign 


Copyright,  1897 
by 

Fleming  H.  Revell  Company 


Copyright,  1898 
by 

Fleming  H.  Revell  Company 


SB 

IX 


EXPLANATORY  NOTE 

This  text-book,  prepared  for  the  use  of  Mission  Study 
Classes  in  institutions  of  higher  education,  contains  a reprint 
of  a portion  of  Volume  I.  of  “ Christian  Missions  and  Social 
Progress/71  by  the  Rev.  James  S.  Dennis,  D.  D.,  a work 
characterized  by  Germany's  distinguished  missionary  professor, 
Dr.  Gustav  Warneck,  as  one  of  the  strongest  yet  produced. 
As  the  selected  portions  reprinted  contain  but  a small  part  of 
one  volume,  only  four  out  of  the  seven  sections  of  the  lecture 
dealing  exclusively  with  the  social  evils  of  the  non-Christian 
world  being  given,  it  has  been  thought  best  to  present  in  this 
text-book  a synopsis  of  the  contents  of  both  volumes.  This 
synopsis  will  lay  before  the  reader  a brief  summary  of  the 
larger  scope  of  the  entire  work,  and  show  him  the  secondary, 
or  rather  preliminary,  place  in  the  discussion  which  the  part 
here  reprinted  occupies.  In  dealing  with  the  relation  of 
Christian  missions  to  social  progress  a review  of  the  evils  of 
non-Christian  society  was  necessary,  in  order  to  make  plain 
the  imperative  need  of  a moral  crusade,  and  at  the  same  time 
to  emphasize  the  main  contention  of  the  book,  which  is  that 
Christian  missions,  if  successful,  are  bound  to  promote  social 
as  well  as  individual  righteousness,  and  prove  a powerful  cor- 
rective for  the  evils  named.  It  will  appear  also  that  they  are 
able  to  impart  the  secret  of  moral  progress,  both  national  and 
personal.  The  few  illustrations  reproduced  will  also  be  a 
revelation  of  the  helpfulness  afforded  by  the  nearly  two  hun- 
dred carefully  selected  photographs  which  constitute  a most 
valuable  feature  of  the  work. 

Classes  using  this  little  book  should  have  for  consultation 
and  for  side-light  readings  the  volume  from  which  it  has  been 

IN 

\ 


1 Fleming  H.  Revell  Company , Publishers. 

5 


6 


EXPLANATORY  NOTE 


taken,  as  its  full  notes  constitute  an  important  commentary 
upon  the  subject  matter  treated  of  in  the  text.  Moreover, 
these  footnotes  indicate  exactly  the  sources  whence  most  of  the 
information  has  been  derived,  and  hence,  with  the  copious 
bibliography  following  each  chapter,  will  be  most  helpful  to 
those  who  wish  to  give  the  topics  fuller  study. 

Special  attention  is  called  to  the  Analytical  Index  which  has 
been  prepared  for  the  use  of  members  of  classes.  It  is  at  once 
an  index  of  the  book  and  a help  to  the  student,  who  is  advised 
to  use  it  for  gaining  a fuller  idea  of  what  is  to  be  studied  be- 
fore taking  up  the  assigned  lesson,  and  also  after  the  study  by 
way  of  review  and  as  a reminder  of  what  may  have  been  for- 
gotten. 


Contents 

PAGE 

Synopsis  of  Volume  I.  of  “ Christian  Missions  and  Social 

Progress,” 9 

I.  Introductory, 13 

II.  The  Individual  Group 17 

III.  The  Family  Group, 40 

IV.  The  Tribal  Group, 71 

V.  The  Social  Group, 109 

Synopsis  of  Volume  II.  of  “ Christian  Missions  and  Social 

Progress,” 160 

Analytical  Index, 164 


7 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Delegates  Attending  United  Presbyterian  Jubilee, 

Scotland,  1897. Frontispiece . 


Lovedale  Institution,  South  Africa  . . . Facing  page  34 


— , 

A Communion  Scene  at  Banza  Manteka  | 

u 

u 

86 

New  Scenes  and  Faces  on  the  Congo  J 

Serampore  College,  Bengal  ^ 

(t 

t( 

1 10 

College  Square,  Calcutta,  India  ^ 

Moukden  Hospital  Staff  and  Students  . 

a 

a 

1 14 

Scenes  in  India  ...... 

cc 

(i 

144 

8 


SYNOPSIS  OF  LECTURE  I 


THE  SOCIOLOGICAL  SCOPE  OF  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS 

The  lecture  is  a study  of  the  social  influence  and  humanitarian  scope  of 
missions,  with  a view  to  emphasizing  their  power  as  a sociological  factor 
in  the  non-Christian  world.  The  evangelistic  results  have  always  been 
prominent,  and  need  no  accentuation ; but  in  order  to  a fully  rounded 
survey  of  the  potentialities  of  missions  as  a factor  in  social  regeneration, 
we  must  measure  their  possibilities  as  a reconstructive  force.  The  subject 
is  introduced  with  some  preliminary  remarks  bearing  upon  the  following 
points:  (i)  The  social  influence  of  missions  affects  the  ethical  and 
humane  rather  than  the  economic  status  of  society.  (2)  The  testimony 
of  history  to  the  social  power  of  Christianity  has  always  been  emphasized 
in  apologetic  literature.  (3)  The  fact  that  this  deeper  and  broader  view 
of  the  indirect  results  of  missions  has  been  very  imperfectly  recognized. 
(4)  The  special  timeliness  of  this  theme  in  the  present  horoscope  of  mis- 
sions. 

The  relations  of  Christian  missions  to  sociology  are  discussed,  and  an 
important  place  claimed  for  them  as  a factor  in  social  progress.  The 
sociological  power  of  the  religious  environment  is  insisted  upon,  and  the 
broader  view  of  sociology  as  a philosophy  and  an  art,  as  well  as  an  exact 
science,  is  advocated.  Sociology  is  a study  of  the  history  and  laws  of 
social  groupings,  but  it  includes  also  philosophic  ideals  and  a practical 
ministry  to  the  higher  welfare  of  society.  It  is  constructive  and  utilitarian 
in  its  larger  scope  and  wider  influence.  Like  theology,  medicine,  law, 
and  political  economy,  it  cannot  be  restricted  in  its  applied  aspects  to  a 
scholastic  discipline. 

The  question  whether  universal  evolution  in  its  rigid  and  exclusive 
sense  is  the  only  postulate  of  a true  sociological  system  is  considered,  and 
a place  is  claimed  for  the  supernatural  as  an  essential  factor  of  the  divine 
training  and  government  of  the  race.  The  function  of  Christian  missions 
as  a power  divinely  ordered  and  introduced  into  the  history  of  belated 
civilizations  with  a distinct  purpose  of  giving  impulse  and  direction  to 
social  changes  is  discussed  in  several  of  its  aspects.  The  contention  that 
Christianity  is  a religious  and  ethical  environment  which  is  conducive  to 
the  development  of  the  highest  type  of  moral  character  is  supported  and 
emphasized.  The  dignity  of  the  evangelistic  aspects  of  missions  is  main- 
tained as  in  no  way  affected  by  this  larger  view  of  mission  possibilities. 

Some  a priori  arguments  are  advanced  in  support  of  this  optimistic  out- 
look, based  upon  analogy,  history,  and  the  prophetic  import  of  Scripture. 

SYNOPSIS  OF  LECTURE  II 

THE  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 

The  extent  of  this  lecture  renders  any  attempt  to  summarize  it  imprac- 
ticable, but  the  following  syllabus  indicates  the  order  in  which  the  social 
evils  of  the  non-Christian  world  have  been  treated. 

9 


10  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


I.  — The  Individual  Group.  (Evils  affecting  primarily  the  individual, 
and  secondarily  society  through  the  individual.)  (i)  Intemperance;  (2) 
The  Opium  Habit;  (3)  The  Gambling  Habit;  (4)  Immoral  Vices;  (5) 
Self-torture;  (6)  Suicide;  (7)  Idleness  and  Improvidence ; (8)  Exces- 
sive Pride  and  Self-exaltation ; (9)  Moral  Delinquencies. 

II.  — The  Family  Group.  (Evils  affecting  primarily  the  family,  and 
secondarily  society  through  the  family.)  (1)  The  Degradation  of 
Woman;  (2)  Polygamy  and  Concubinage;  (3)  Adultery  and  Divorce ; 
(4)  Child  Marriage  and  Widowhood;  (5)  Defective  Family  Training ; 
(6)  Infanticide. 

III.  — The  Tribal  Group.  (Evils  which  pertain  to  intertribal  rela- 
tionships, and  find  their  origin  in  the  cruel  passions  of  savage  life.)  (1) 
The  Traffic  in  Human  Flesh;  (2)  Slavery;  (3)  Cannibalism;  (4) 
Human  Sacrifices;  (5)  Cruel  Ordeals;  (6)  Cruel  Punishments  and  Tor- 
ture; (7)  Brutality  in  War ; (8)  Blood  Feuds;  (9)  Lawlessness. 

IV.  — The  Social  Group.  (Evils  which  are  incidental  to  the  social 
relationships  of  uncivilized  communities,  and  are  due  to  lack  of  intelli- 
gence or  the  force  of  depraved  habit.)  (1)  Ignorance;  (2)  Quackery; 
(3)  Witchcraft;  (4)  Neglect  of  the  Poor  and  Sick;  (5)  Uncivilized  and 
Cruel  Customs;  (6)  Insanitary  Conditions;  (7)  Lack  of  Public  Spirit ; 
(8)  Mutual  Suspicion;  (9)  Poverty;  (10)  The  Tyranny  of  Custom; 
(11)  Caste. 

V.  — The  National  Group.  (Evils  which  afflict  society  through  the 
misuse  of  the  governing  power.)  (1)  Civil  Tyranny;  (2)  Oppressive 
Taxation;  (3)  The  Subversion  of  Legal  Rights;  (4)  Corruption  and 
Bribery;  (5)  Massacre  and  Pillage. 

VI.  — The  Commercial  Group.  (Evils  incidental  to  low  commercial 
standards  or  defective  industrial  methods.)  (1)  Lack  of  Business  Con- 
fidence; (2)  Commercial  Deceit  and  Fraud;  (3)  Financial  Irregulari- 
ties ; (4)  Primitive  Industrial  Appliances. 

VII.  — The  Religious  Group.  (Evils  which  deprive  society  of  the 
moral  benefits  of  a pure  religious  faith  and  practice.)  (1)  Degrading 
Conceptions  of  the  Nature  and  Requirements  of  Religion;  (2)  Idolatry; 
(3)  Superstition;  (4)  Religious  Tyranny  and  Persecution ; (5)  Scanda- 
lous Lives  of  Religious  Leaders. 


SYNOPSIS  OF  LECTURE  III 

INEFFECTUAL  REMEDIES  AND  THE  CAUSES  OF  THEIR  FAILURE 

The  evils  discussed  in  the  previous  lecture  have  accentuated  the  call  for 
an  effective  remedy.  It  is  the  purpose  of  the  present  lecture  to  pass  in 
review  some  remedial  expedients  which,  although  sometimes  advocated 
with  much  assurance,  have  nevertheless  failed  to  vindicate  their  efficacy 
apart  from  the  inspiration,  guidance,  and  cooperation  of  Christianity.  It 
is  not  asserted  that  they  are  in  every  instance  inherently  and  necessarily 
without  value,  but  that,  in  view  of  the  ordinary  tendencies  of  human 
nature,  they  are  found  to  be  for  the  purposes  of  social  reconstruction  de- 
fective and  misleading,  incompetent  to  cope  with  the  difficulties  and  de- 
mands of  the  environment,  unless  pervaded  and  directed  by  the  moral 


SYNOPSIS  OF  LECTURE  IV 


11 


power  and  spiritual  enlightenment  of  Christian  ideals.  With  a view  to 
test  the  social  fruitage  of  these  agencies  apart  from  Christianity,  the  fol- 
lowing propositions  are  discussed : 

I.  Secular  education  apart  from  Christian  truth  does  not  hold  the 
secret  of  social  regeneration. 

II.  Material  civilization,  as  exemplified  in  temporal  prosperity,  artistic 
luxury,  and  commercial  progress,  cannot  guarantee  the  moral  transforma- 
tion of  non-Christian  society. 

III.  State  legislation  in  and  by  itself,  apart  from  Christianized  public 
sentiment,  is  not  an  effective  instrument  of  social  righteousness. 

IV.  Patriotism  cannot  be  trusted  to  insure  the  moral  or  political  re- 
form of  non-Christian  peoples.  It  may  represent  simply  a blind  and 
prejudiced  adherence  to  all  that  is  objectionable  and  injurious  in  the  re- 
ligious, social,  and  national  life. 

V.  The  moral  forces  of  ethnic  religions  are  not  capable  of  an  uplifting 
and  beneficent  renewal  of  society.  The  individual  and  social  product  of 
Buddhism  is  found  to  be  a paralyzed  personality ; of  Confucianism  an 
impoverished  personality ; of  Hinduism  a degraded  personality ; of  Islam 
an  enslaved  personality.  The  making  of  a perfected  society  is  not  in 
Shintoism,  nor  in  Taoism,  nor  in  Jainism,  nor  is  Parsism  equal  to  the  task. 
Other  and  lesser  religious  lights  lead  only  into  social  darkness. 

Christianity  is  the  supreme  gift  of  God  to  human  society.  It  is  full  of 
religious  truth,  moral  energy,  and  penetrating  influence,  making  it  instru- 
mental, wherever  introduced,  in  changing  the  current  of  social  life  in  the 
direction  of  higher  ideals  and  nobler  culture.  As  a religious  environment 
it  becomes  an  inspiring  and  a guiding  force  in  the  formation  of  a new 
public  opinion  and  in  the  lifting  up  of  the  purer  standards  of  civilization. 

SYNOPSIS  OF  LECTURE  IV 

CHRISTIANITY  THE  SOCIAL  HOPE  OF  THE  NATIONS 

The  need  of  a supernatural  remedy  for  the  evils  of  non-Christian  society 
is  asserted  and  advocated,  and  the  adaptation  of  Christianity  to  wage  a 
beneficent  and  effective  crusade  against  the  moral  lapses  and  social  cruel- 
ties of  heathenism  is  argued,  under  the  following  heads : 

I.  Christianity  alone  offers  the  perfect  and  final  solution  of  the  problem 
of  sin.  Its  method  of  expiation  and  its  assurance  of  justification  and  for- 
giveness contrast  favorably  with  every  expedient  known  in  the  religious 
history  of  man. 

II.  It  provides  a new  and  powerful  motive  in  the  moral  experience  of 
mankind. 

III.  It  suggests  new  views  of  society.  Its  estimate  of  the  individual 
man  brings  it  into  sharp  and  significant  contrast  with  the  pagan  concep- 
tion, which  is  substantially  the  prevailing  one  in  the  non-Christian  world 
of  to-day. 

IV.  The  code  of  social  ethics  advocated  by  Christianity  is  an  immense 
improvement  upon  that  which  prevails  under  any  ethnic  system  of  re- 
ligion. The  ethical  systems  of  Buddhism,  Confucianism,  Hinduism,  and 
Mohammedanism  are  examined  and  compared  with  the  social  ethics  of 


12  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


Christianity.  The  superior  ideals  and  the  beneficent  fruitage  of  the 
Christian  code  are  demonstrated. 

V.  Christianity  introduces  new  moral  forces  into  heathen  society, 
especially  the  noble  impulse  to  missionary  service. 

VI.  Philanthropic  ideas  are  generated  and  quickened  into  activity  by 
the  entrance  of  Christian  teaching  and  example  among  non-Christian 
peoples. 

VII.  Historic  Christianity  is  declared  to  be  equal  to  the  task  above 
outlined.  Its  power  is  shown  to  be  in  its  supernaturalism  and  its  trans- 
cendent appeal  to  the  heart  and  will  of  man.  Its  sufficiency  in  itself, 
without  any  compromise  with  the  ethnic  faiths  or  any  surrender  of  its 
unique  and  exclusive  character,  is  insisted  upon.  Its  claim  to  be  a 
supreme,  absolute,  universal,  and  final  religion,  having  its  origin  in  the 
infinite  wisdom  and  condescending  love  of  God,  is  accepted  unreservedly 
and  in  opposition  to  the  theory  that  it  is  a product  of  natural  evolution, 
or  the  outcome  and  consummation  of  the  religious  searchings  of  the  race, 
or  the  outgrowth  of  other  religious  systems.  Christianity  is  from  Christ, 
and  Christ  is  from  God.  In  His  own  incarnate  personality  He  is  the 
highest  source  of  wisdom.  In  His  teaching  and  example  we  have  the 
inspiration  and  pledge  of  individual  righteousness  and  social  morality. 


I 


INTRODUCTORY 

Character  of  the  Present  Inquiry. — i.  The  subject 
before  us  is  so  vast  and  complicated  that  one  may  well  ap- 
proach it  with  diffidence  and  even  with  dismay.  Its  range  is 
so  immense,  and  its  details  involve  such  a mass  of  facts,  that 
first-hand  treatment  of  the  theme  is  entirely  beyond  the  grasp 
of  even  the  most  learned  student  or  the  most  observant  travel- 
ler. We  might  well  shrink  from  the  responsibility  involved 
were  it  not  for  the  abundant  testimony  at  our  command  in 
current  literature,  and  especially  as  the  result  of  an  extensive 
private  correspondence  entered  upon  with  the  special  purpose 
of  securing  reliable  data  from  those  whose  observation  and 
personal  experience  qualify  them  to  speak  with  authority. 

2.  It  is  a theme  which  should  be  approached  with  all  hu- 
mility and  sobriety,  and  treated  not  with  a view  to  impression- 
ism or  with  any  attempt  to  exploit  the  evils  of  non-Christian 
society.  The  aim  should  be  rather  to  present  a faithful  and 
at  the  same  time  unflinching  portraiture  of  the  true  state  of 
human  society  in  the  less  favored  nations  of  the  earth.  We 
shall  not  aim  at  a highly  wrought  picture,  but  rather  at  a ju- 
dicial presentation.  Whatever  of  realism  may  characterize  it 
will  be  fully  justified  by  the  facts  of  the  case,  and  to  those 
who  can  read  between  the  lines  there  will  be  no  difficulty  in 
tracing  the  presence  of  a darker  coloring  and  a more  ghastly 
background  to  the  picture  than  the  proprieties  of  the  printed 
page  will  allow.  One  thing  we  shall  seek  especially  to  guard 
against,  and  that  is  any  attempt  either  to  magnify  the  evils  of 
the  non-Christian  world  or  to  minimize  those  of  Christendom. 
Our  object  will  not  be  to  make  out  a case  by  special  pleading, 
or  even  to  institute  a comparison,  but  rather  to  unfold  realities. 

3.  Excellencies  not  to  be  underestimated. — Our  purpose 
requires  that  we  note  what  is  objectionable  and  discreditable ; 
yet,  on  the  other  hand,  we  wish  neither  to  hide  nor  ignore  the 
existence  of  many  virtues,  both  individual  and  social,  which 
lend  a peculiar  interest  and  charm  to  the  personal  and  national 

13 


14  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


character  of  Eastern  peoples,  especially  the  more  advanced 
among  them.  There  is  much  that  is  beautiful  and  dignified 
in  their  social  life.  The  great  nations  of  the  Orient,  when 
once  thoroughly  purified  and  possessed  by  the  spiritual  culture 
of  Christianity,  will  be  as  refined,  as  gracious,  as  gentle,  as 
noble,  and  as  true  as  any  other  people  which  the  world  con- 
tains. They  have  inherited  and  preserved,  in  many  instances 
with  singular  fidelity,  the  best  products  and  many  of  the  most 
commendable  customs  of  the  ancient  civilizations,  and  to  re- 
fuse to  recognize  this  would  indicate  a complacency  on  our 
part,  at  once  invidious,  ungenerous,  and  unjustifiable. 

The  Chinese , for  example,  could  teach  a considerable 
portion  of  the  Occidental  world  profitable  lessons  in  filial 
piety,  respect  for  law,  reverence  for  superiors,  economy,  in- 
dustry, patience,  perseverance,  contentment,  cheerfulness, 
kindliness,  politeness,  skill  in  the  use  of  opportunities,  and 
energy  in  the  conquering  of  an  adverse  environment.  The 
merchants  of  China,  in  contradistinction  to  the  officials  and 
small  traders,  are  held  in  high  esteem  as  men  of  probity  and 
business  honor.  The  capabilities  of  the  Chinese  people,  under 
favorable  auspices,  will  surely  secure  to  them  an  unexpectedly 
high  and  honorable  place  in  the  world’s  future.  There  is  a 
staying  power  in  their  natural  qualities  and  a possibility  of 
development  under  helpful  conditions  which  deserve  more 
recognition  than  the  world  seems  ready  at  present  to  accord. 
With  proper  discrimination  as  to  specifications,  and  some 
necessary  modification  and  readjustment  of  the  precise  em- 
phasis of  the  characterization,  similar  statements  might  be 
made  concerning  the  Japanese,  Hindus,  and  other  Asiatic 
peoples.  We  must  bear  in  mind  also  that  these  nations  have 
been  obliged  to  struggle  with  crushing  disabilities,  and  are 
weighted  with  ponderous  burdens,  which  have  handicapped 
them  for  ages  in  the  race  of  progress.  Considerations  such  as 
these,  and  others  which  will  occur  to  the  student,  but  to  which 
we  have  not  time  here  to  refer,  will  suggest  that  a spirit  of 
charitable  and  calm  discrimination  should  mark  the  treatment 
of  our  present  theme. 

Evils  of  Christendom. — i.  It  is  not  to  be  denied,  more- 
over, that  some  of  the  gravest  counts  in  the  indictment  would 
hold  against  society,  considered  in  its  totality,  in  more  civi- 
lized lands,  even  those  most  fully  under  the  influence  of 
Christianity.  In  fact,  a catalogue  of  social  evils  pertaining  to 


INTR  OD  UCTOR  Y 


15 


Occidental  nations  might  be  made,  which  would  prove  a 
formidable  rival  to  its  less  civilized  contemporary,  although 
in  many  vital  respects  it  would  be  different.  If  we  consider 
the  immense  advantages  of  the  environment  of  Christendom, 
it  becomes  a pertinent  and  searching  question  whether  Occi- 
dental races  under  similar  historic  conditions,  without  the 
inspiration  of  Christian  ideals,  would  have  done  better  than 
their  less  fortunate  brethren. 

2.  It  must  be  acknowledged  also  that  there  is  an  oppor- 
tunity for  a sombre  and  dismal  retort  on  the  part  of  the  less 
civilized  races,  based  upon  the  treatment  they  have  experi- 
enced at  the  hands  of  professedly  Christian  nations,  or  upon 
the  personal  dealings  and  conduct  of  the  unworthy  representa- 
tives of  Christendom  with  whom  they  have  come  in  contact. 
There  is  little  comfort  to  the  sufferers  in  the  statement  that  the 
truer  Christian  sentiment  and  the  higher  moral  standards  of 
Christendom  condemn  and  repudiate  these  evils  as  abhorrent 
and  disgraceful ; yet  that  this  is  the  truth  is  a fact  which  has 
in  it  a deep  consolatory  significance  to  a believer  in  the  re- 
ligion of  Christ,  and  gives  an  added  impulse  to  the  missionary 
enterprise  as  a debt  of  Christianity  to  offset  treatment  on  the 
part  of  so-called  Christian  nations  which  was  far  from  com- 
mendable. 

The  Supreme  Test.— i.  There  is  little  that  gives  reason 
for  any  tone  of  exaltation  in  the  consideration  of  this  whole 
matter,  yet  there  is  one  test  in  which  Christian  civilization 
can  serenely  rest.  The  ground  not  of  boasting,  but  of  hope- 
fulness and  gratitude  in  Christendom,  is  that  the  forces  of  re- 
sistance to  evil  are  alert  and  vigorous.  The  standards  of  life 
and  conduct  are  permanently  elevated.  The  demands  of 
public  opinion  are  enforced  by  regnant  principles.  The  pre- 
vailing temper  and  tone  of  society  are  in  harmony  with  es- 
sential Christian  ethics.  The  moral  forces  which  represent 
law  and  order,  peace  and  sobriety,  justice  and  brotherhood, 
truth  and  honor,  are  in  the  ascendant,  and  working  steadily 
toward  a beneficent  goal.  The  leaven  of  Christianity  has 
permeated  society,  and  is  quickening  it  with  a steadily  ex- 
panding energy,  and  holds  the  balance  of  power  in  directing 
the  educational  machinery  of  civilization. 

2.  In  the  non-Christian  world  almost  the  reverse  is  true. 
There  is  a totally  different  tone  and  temper  in  the  public  con- 
science. The  trend  is  under  the  influence  of  other  masters. 


16  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-  CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


The  social  status  is  marked  by  spiritual  demoralization  and 
ethical  decadence.  There  is  poverty  of  blood  and  paralysis 
of  moral  muscle.  The  heathen  world  now,  as  of  old,  is  mori- 
bund. It  is  destitute  in  itself  of  recuperating  power.  It 
lacks  the  one  vital  force  which  can  alone  guarantee  the  moral 
hopefulness  of  social  evolution.  The  Incarnation  of  the  Son 
of  God,  and  the  practical  stimulus  of  contact  with  that 
sublime  fact  and  its  spiritual  corollaries,  constitute  the  true 
secret  of  progress  in  the  realm  of  higher  social  transformation. 

The  subject  now  in  hand  hardly  admits  of  analysis  ; yet  we 
have  thought  it  best  to  make  an  attempt  to  present  the  facts  in 
orderly  sequence,  with  a crude  and  confessedly  artificial 
nexus.  The  effort  must  be  regarded  as  simply  tentative,  and 
with  a view  to  our  present  convenience.  We  have,  therefore, 
divided  the  social  evils  to  be  noted  into  groups,  with  some- 
what random  specifications  under  each  group. 


II 


THE  INDIVIDUAL  GROUP 

(Evils  affecting  primarily  the  individual,  and  secondarily  society 
through  the  individual) 

Intemperance. — i.  A survey  of  the  present  state  of  the 
world  with  special  reference  to  the  drink  habit  reveals  the 
lamentable  fact  that  it  prevails  more  or  less  in  almost  all 
sections  of  the  earth.  A still  further  scrutiny  exhibits  the 
startling  truth  that  regions  where  it  has  been  least  known  are 
the  very  places  where  the  emissaries  of  Satan,  drawing  their 
supplies  from  within  the  precincts  of  Christendom,  are  most 
eager  to  thrust  this  vile  and  demoralizing  traffic.  There  are 
large  sections  of  the  world,  including  vast  populations,  where 
only  the  milder  and  less  dangerous  forms  of  semi-intoxicants 
were  in  common  use  until  the  cruel  greed  of  those  human 
harpies,  the  traders  in  intoxicants,  introduced  the  foreign 
forms  of  stronger  alcoholic  poisons.  We  must  acknowledge 
that  the  drink  habit  seems  to  be  one  of  the  deplorable  phenomena 
of  civilization,  and  that  a comparative  survey  of  the  use  of  in- 
toxicants reveals  the  fact  that  in  no  countries  is  it  so  prevalent  as 
in  those  of  the  European  and  the  North  and  South  American 
Continents.  If  we  turn  our  attention  to  the  broader  outlook 
of  the  world,  we  find  that  wherever  European  civilization  has 
established  itself  or  has  a controlling  influence,  just  there  this 
scourge  of  intemperance,  like  a malign  contagion,  has  ap- 
peared and  is  spreading,  and  that,  although  native  races 
usually  have  intoxicants  of  their  own  manufacture,  yet  the  evil 
effects  have  everywhere  been  immensely  increased  by  the 
introduction  of  foreign  alcoholic  drinks. 

2.  Turning  our  attention  now  exclusively  to  foreign  mission 
fields , and  including  among  them  the  countries  where  Roman 
Catholicism  prevails,  while  exact  comparative  statistics  are  not 
to  be  found,  yet  the  burden  of  evidence  seems  to  indicate  that 
none  surpasses  the  South  American  Continent , Central  America, 
and  Mexico  in  the  excessive  use  of  intoxicants. 

17 


18  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


Next  perhaps  would  come  India  and  Burmay  where  the 
British  Government  holds  a gruesome  monopoly  of  both  the 
drink  and  opium  traffics,  and  derives  a revenue  from  both  by 
auction  sale  of  licenses  and  custom  tax,  which  seems  to  blind 
its  eyes  to  the  moral  evils  of  the  system,  and  to  sear  the  official 
conscience  as  to  any  sense  of  responsibility  for  the  rapid  and 
fearful  increase  of  the  drinking  habit. 

Next  to  India  we  must  place  some  sections  of  Africa , where 
the  same  dismal  story  of  foreign  liquor  introduction  must  be 
told.  The  West  Coast,  and  to  a less  extent  the  East  Coast,  of 
the  Continent  are  flooded  with  the  white  man’s  “fire-water.” 
Millions  of  gallons  enter  every  year,  and  the  demoralizing  cus- 
tom of  paying  the  wages  of  natives  in  liquor  is  becoming 
alarmingly  prevalent.  If  we  follow  up  the  direct  avenues  of 
the  Congo  from  the  West  Coast,  and  the  inland  waterways  and 
caravan  routes  of  the  East  Coast,  we  will  find  that  the  traffic  is 
penetrating  the  recesses  of  the  Continent.  Commissioner 
Johnston  estimates  that  at  least  thirty  per  cent,  of  those  who 
die  in  Central  Africa  are  the  victims  of  alcohol.  Pathetic  in- 
stances of  protest  and  appeal  from  native  chiefs  and  even 
native  communities  are  reported,  which  reveal  the  instinctive 
recognition  on  their  part  of  the  dangers  of  the  habit.  In 
Madagascar  the  native  Government  has  taken  strenuous  action 
to  prevent  the  extension  of  the  trade  in  intoxicants,  and  has 
succeeded  in  greatly  checking  the  advances  of  the  evil,  but 
how  it  will  be  now  that  French  influence  has  obtained  control 
is  a matter  of  doubt. 

In  Japan , Korea  and  China , while  intemperance  is  a social 
curse, — increasingly  so  in  Japan, — yet  it  seems  to  be  restrained 
to  an  extent  which  makes  it  far  less  of  a national  evil  and  a 
social  danger  than  in  the  lands  which  we  have  passed  in  re- 
view. Of  the  Ainu  of  Northern  Japan  it  is  said,  however, 
that  they  are  “ a nation  of  drunkards,”  and  in  the  larger  cities 
of  Japan  there  is  an  increasing  tendency  to  intoxication.  In 
Korea  also  there  are  ominous  signs  of  danger.  In  China, 
while  drinking  is  sadly  prevalent  in  the  large  cities,  yet  the 
nation  as  a whole  sets  an  example  of  sobriety.  The  country  is 
not  as  yet  afflicted  to  any  extent  with  the  public  saloon,  and 
drinking  is  restricted  to  the  home  or  to  festive  gatherings,  and 
cannot  be  considered  as  by  any  means  so  demoralizing  as  the 
opium  habit.  Its  extension  is  at  present  confined  almost  ex- 
clusively to  the  foreign  ports. 


THE  INDIVIDUAL  GROUP 


19 


In  Moha?nmedan  lands  the  use  of  intoxicants  is  greatly  on 
the  increase.  In  the  Turkish  Empire,  in  Persia,  and  in  North 
Africa,  Mohammedans  as  well  as  the  nominal  Christian  popula- 
tion seem  to  be  yielding  to  the  besetting  temptation.  The 
Koran,  to  be  sure,  prohibits  wine,  but  the  Moslem  conscience 
by  a species  of  exegetical  legerdemain  has  interpreted  the  in- 
junction as  having  no  application  to  the  concoctions  of  the 
modern  still.  In  the  Pacific  Islands  we  have,  with  only  one 
or  two  remarkable  exceptions,  the  universal  story  of  the  in- 
troduction of  foreign  liquors  and  the  prompt  surrender  of  the 
native  to  the  resistless  enticement. 

3.  The  result  of  our  survey  is  that  intemperance,  largely 
through  foreign  introduction,  is  rapidly  on  the  increase 
throughout  the  earth,  and  that  Christianity  owes  it  to  herself 
and  to  the  honor  of  Christendom  to  support  and  encourage 
every  effort  of  missions  and  every  agency  of  reform  for  saving 
the  world  from  its  ravages. 

The  Opium  Habit. — The  area  of  the  prevalence  of  the 
opium  habit  may  be  said  to  be  limited  to  the  eastern  half  of 
the  continent  of  Asia,  including  the  islands  to  the  southeast  of 
China,  the  Empire  of  Japan  being  a notable  exception. 

1.  The  storm-centre  of  the  vice  is  China,  and  here  again 
we  meet  with  the  same  amazing  phenomenon  of  a civilized  na- 
tion seriously  compromised  by  complicity  in  the  extension  of 
a demoralizing  traffic.  The  part  which  the  British  Govern- 
ment has  taken  in  the  introduction  of  opium  into  China  is  an 
indelible  chapter  in  the  history  of  the  nineteenth  century,  and 
the  persistent  encouragement  to  its  production  in  India  up  to 
the  present  time,  and  the  advantage  which  is  taken  of  its  ex- 
portation to  China  by  the  British  Government  to  swell  the 
Indian  revenue,  is  an  aspect  of  English  foreign  policy  which 
is  exciting  intense  indignation  and  loathing  on  the  part  of 
rapidly  increasing  multitudes  of  the  British  public.  While  the 
habit  has  been  known  in  the  East  for  centuries  to  a very 
limited  extent,  yet  its  modern  development  and  the  fearful 
ravages  of  its  excessive  use  may  be  said  to  be  coincident  with 
its  production  in  India  under  the  British  rule  and  its  recent 
cultivation  in  China  as  a native  product,  under  the  stimulus  of 
the  demand  which  has  arisen  within  a half-century. 

2.  The  present  production  in  India  in  round  numbers  is 
54,700  cwts.  annually,  and  of  this  amount  the  annual  exporta- 
tion, almost  exclusively  to  China,  reaches  49,512  cwts.,  or 


20  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


90.5  per  cent.  The  revenue  of  the  British  Government  in 
India  from  opium  has  decreased  of  late.  Ten  years  ago  it  was 
fully  twice  what  it  is  to-day.  Its  victims  in  China,  however, 
are  constantly  increasing  in  number,  and  are  estimated  at 
present  to  be  over  20,000,000,  and  by  some  as  high  as  40,- 
000,000,  while  the  expense  to  China  is  about  ^25,000,000 
annually. 

3.  The  real  points  at  issue  in  the  conflict  are  the  extent  of 
the  evil  resulting  from  the  use  of  opium,  and  the  responsibility 
of  the  British  Government  in  the  matter.  The  British  admin- 
istration in  India,  for  reasons  of  expediency  and  revenue,  is 
inclined  to  defend  itself  by  minimizing  both  these  considera- 
tions. It  is  on  the  defensive,  and  contends  vigorously  and 
recklessly  that  the  evils  are  insignificant,  and  therefore,  as  a 
matter  of  course,  that  no  responsibility  exists.  On  the  other 
hand,  a large  and  influential  section  of  the  British  people  con- 
tend with  irrepressible  earnestness  and  increasing  vehemence 
that  the  opium  traffic  as  conducted  by  the  British  Government 
in  India  is  a national  scandal  and  an  indefensible  crime,  in- 
volving responsibility  on  the  part  of  Great  Britain,  and  dis- 
crediting to  a painful  degree  the  fair  honor  of  a Christian  na- 
tion. The  Government  has  been  hitherto  unimpressible,  and 
has  maintained  in  general  a policy  of  immobility  or  pleaded 
the  non  posswnus  argument.  The  agitation  has  been  regarded 
in  official  circles  with  incredulous  unconcern,  and,  while  some 
measure  of  formal  deference  has  been  shown,  the  practical  out- 
come has  been  of  trifling  value.  Recent  developments,  how- 
ever, indicate  a marked  advance  along  the  lines  of  an  effective 
and  victorious  crusade. 

4.  The  subject  has  been  before  Parliament  at  various  times, 
and  in  1891  a resolution  was  passed  which  declared  that  the 
methods  of  the  British  Government  in  connection  with  the 
opium  revenue  were  “ morally  indefensible.”  On  September 
2,  1893,  a Royal  Commission  was  appointed  by  Parliament  to 
investigate  the  question  of  opium  in  India,  the  report  of  which 
was  presented  early  in  1895.  It  should  be  noted  that  the 
Commission  did  not  undertake  to  investigate  the  question  of 
its  exportation  to  China  and  the  results  of  its  use  there,  but 
confined  its  attention  to  opium  as  used  in  India.  This  restric- 
tion limits  greatly  the  usefulness  of  such  an  investigation,  and 
gives  a misleading  impression  to  its  conclusions. 

The  report  of  this  Commission  is  altogether  in  the  interests 


THE  INDIVIDUAL  GROUP 


21 


of  the  present  status,  but  its  report  is  one  thing  and  the  mass 
of  evidence  which  it  has  collected  is  quite  a different  matter. 
A member  of  the  Commission,  Mr.  H.  J.  Wilson,  presented  a 
Minority  Report  dissenting  from  the  judgment  of  the  majority. 
Such  searching  analyses  of  the  evidence  as  are  presented  in  his 
“ Minute  of  Dissent,’ 1 and  also  in  a published  “ Review  of  the 
Evidence”  by  Mr.  Joshua  Rowntree,  reveal  a mine  of  in- 
formation on  the  subject  of  opium  which  can  be  worked  to  the 
manifest  advantage  of  the  anti-opium  cause.  The  Royal  Com- 
mission will  not  by  any  means  have  things  its  own  way.  Its 
voluminous  documents,  filling  several  large  Government  Blue 
Books,  its  accessory  literature,  in  the  shape  of  petitions, 
memorials,  public  addresses,  and  press  discussions,  and  the 
awakening  of  general  interest  in  the  question  will  all  serve  to 
mark  an  era  in  the  history  of  the  campaign  against  opium,  from 
which  a large  volume  of  new  and  striking  data  will  emerge, 
and  from  which  the  agitation  will  derive  new  impulse  and 
vigor  and  reap  a decided  advantage.  The  war  is  by  no  means 
on  the  wane. 

5.  The  recent  action  of  the  British  Government  in  restrict- 
ing the  opium  traffic  in  Bur?na  may  be  regarded  as  a victory 
on  the  part  of  the  opponents  of  the  opium  policy,  although  the 
reasons  assigned  by  the  British  Government  for  that  action  re- 
vealed a studied  indifference  to  the  agitation,  and  in  fact 
credited  Buddhism  with  the  moral  influence  against  opium; 
yet  the  fact  that  the  action  was  taken  is  highly  significant,  and 
stands  with  all  the  force  of  a moral  paradox  as  a self-inflicted 
indictment  of  the  Government  policy  for  India  and  China. 
No  one  can  read  the  official  notification  which  announces  that 
“ the  use  of  opium  is  condemned  by  the  Buddhist  religion , and 
the  Government,  believing  the  condemnation  to  be  right,  in- 
tends that  the  use  of  opium  by  persons  of  the  Burmese  race 
shall  forever  cease,”  without  finding  himself  face  to  face  with 
the  puzzling  enigma  of  how  the  condemnation  is  right  when 
pronounced  by  Buddhism,  and  of  indifferent  value  when 
pronounced  by  Christianity.  He  will  find  it  difficult  also  to 
restrain  a lively  and  irrepressible  inquiry  as  to  why,  if  the 
Government,  “believing  the  condemnation  to  be  right,”  feels 
under  obligation  to  prohibit  forever  the  Burmese  race  from 
using  it,  it  should  not  also  carry  out  the  same  prohibition  in 
the  case  of  the  Indian  races,  and,  so  far  as  its  participation  is 
concerned,  in  the  case  of  the  Chinese  race.  The  truth  seems 


22  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


to  be  that  the  report  of  the  recent  Royal  Commission  was 
rendered  in  the  interest  of  financial  and  political  expediency 
rather  than  with  any  profound  consideration  of  the  moral  re- 
sponsibility involved. 

6.  As  to  the  real  extent  of  the  evil , geographically,  physic- 
ally, morally,  and  socially,  the  evidence  seems  conclusive  to 
one  who  receives  it  in  an  unprejudiced  spirit  and  studies  its 
significance.  A geographical  survey  of  the  area  of  the  opium 
habit  presents  at  the  outset  the  striking  fact  that  Japan  is  free. 
The  wisdom  of  her  statesmen  has  guaranteed  her  by  treaty 
against  the  introduction  of  the  drug,  while  the  laws  against  its 
manufacture  and  use  are  of  exemplary  severity  and  are  strictly 
enforced. 

It  had  been  carried  into  Korea  by  the  Chinese,  and  was 
rapidly  gaining  headway,  but  there  is  reason  to  hope  that  if 
Japanese  influence  and  supervision  rather  than  Russian  are  to 
prevail  in  Korea,  the  evil  will  be  checked.  Throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  China , even  in  her  far  western  prov- 
inces of  Shensi,  Szechuan,  and  Yunnan,  it  prevails  to  an  ex- 
tent which  may  be  regarded  as  a frightful  and  demoralizing 
social  evil.  The  testimony  as  to  its  prevalence  in  Yunnan 
and  the  remoter  provinces  reports  as  high  as  eighty  per  cent, 
of  the  men  and  fifty  per  cent,  of  the  women  addicted  to  the 
pernicious  habit.  In  Formosa  opium  and  whiskey  have  been 
counted  as  two  of  the  main  evils  to  be  contended  with.  The 
recent  prohibition  of  the  opium  trade  by  the  Japanese  has, 
however,  given  the  hope  of  a change  for  the  better.  In  the 
Eastern  Archipelago  there  is  the  same  story  of  its  desolating 
effects.  In  Siam  and  Laos  it  ranks  as  a baneful  custom.  In 
the  Straits  Settle7nents  it  has  securely  established  itself.  In 
Burma  it  was  rapidly  doing  its  deadly  work  until  the  revolt 
of  the  Burmese  effected  a remarkable  change  of  policy  on  the 
part  of  the  British  Government.  In  India , owing  to  the  Gov- 
ernment custom  of  licensing  for  a consideration  its  use,  and 
practically  facilitating  its  consumption,  it  is  an  evil  which  is 
growing  with  alarming  rapidity.  Testimonies  from  all  parts 
of  India  leave  no  doubt  upon  this  point.  Opium  dens  are  be- 
coming a feature  of  dissipation  in  the  cities  of  India,  and  are 
not  unknown  even  in  the  larger  villages.  The  Island  of  Cey- 
lon is  plentifully  supplied  with  them,  especially  its  principal 
city  of  Colombo.  One  of  the  most  distressing  aspects  of  its 
use  in  India  is  the  habit  of  giving  it  to  children,  even  during 


THE  INDIVIDUAL  GROUP 


23 


infancy,  to  stupefy  them  into  quietness.  Its  effect  upon  their 
physical  and  mental  constitution  induces  a state  of  paralysis 
and  collapse  which  frequently  results  in  lifelong  injury.  In 
Persia  the  drug  is  both  cultivated  and  used  in  considerable 
quantities.  In  Teheran,  Meshed,  and  other  cities  opium  dens 
are  to  be  found.  Beyond  the  boundaries  mentioned,  while 
there  is  a scattering  and  dangerous  tendency  to  the  prevalence 
of  the  vice,  yet  we  cannot  regard  it  as  in  the  same  sense  a 
dominant  social  evil,  as  it  certainly  must  be  considered  within 
the  above-indicated  geographical  limits. 

7.  As  to  its  physical  and  moral  effects  a large  volume 
might  be  written.  We  cannot  enter  into  the  subject  at  any 
length,  and  yet  it  should  not  be  dismissed  without  at  least  a 
decisive  verdict.  To  a candid  student  of  the  testimony  of 
those  whose  assertions  can  be  relied  upon  and  who  speak  from 
personal  observation,  there  can  be  but  one  conclusion,  and 
that  is  that  it  is  one  of  the  most  threatening  and  militant  evils 
of  China,  and,  indeed,  of  all  sections  of  the  earth  where  it  is 
gaining  headway. 

The  Gambling  Habit. — Although  gambling  is  to  be  found 
in  Japan,  and  apparently  in  some  places  to  excess,  despite  a 
laudable  effort  on  the  part  of  the  Government  to  suppress  it, 
yet  the  contrast  with  China  in  this  particular  is  greatly  to  the 
credit  of  the  Japanese. 

1.  In  Korea  the  passion  is  widespread,  and  is  apparently 

unrestrained.  China , however,  seems  to  lead  the  van  of  the 

gambling  fraternity  throughout  the  world.  The  indulgence  of 
the  Chinese  is  immemorial  and  inveterate ; in  fact,  it  is  justly 
regarded  as  the  most  prominent  vice  in  China,  its  only  rival 
being  the  opium  habit.  To  be  sure,  it  is  forbidden  by  the 
Government,  but  the  prohibition  seems  to  be  a dead  letter, 
either  through  bribery  or  through  the  utter  inefficiency  of  the 
authorities,  and  it  can  hardly  be  said  that  there  is  the  slightest 
official  restraint  upon  the  universal  passion,  which  seems  to 
hold  sway  among  all  classes,  from  the  mandarins  and  literati 
down  to  the  homeless  and  poverty-stricken  beggars,  who  are 
often  in  their  way  the  most  hopeless  slaves  to  the  habit. 

2.  In  Siam  the  vice  seems  to  carry  the  nation  by  storm, 
but  vigorous  attempts  at  suppression  have  been  made  by  the 
authorities,  and  it  is  now  forbidden,  except  on  holidays,  when 
it  is  allowed  unchecked.  It  cannot  be  said,  however,  that  the 
efforts  of  the  Government  are  ingenuous,  as  it  draws  a large 


24  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


revenue  from  this  source  by  licensing  lotteries  and  gambling- 
houses.  These  licenses  are  farmed  out  to  the  highest  bidder, 
and  give  him  a monopoly,  with  the  power  of  prosecuting  all 
competitors.  It  is  next  to  impossible  for  a government  to  sup- 
press a vice  with  one  hand  and  encourage  it  for  its  own  private 
gains  with  the  other.  We  are  not  surprised  to  read,  there- 
fore, that  “ gambling-houses  and  their  natural  concomitants 
and  next-door  neighbors,  the  pawnshops,  are  numerous  in 
Bangkok/ ’ and  that  “ this  deadly  national  trade  can  but  in- 
crease so  long  as  a native  government  prefers  to  use  it  as  a 
source  of  profit  rather  than  to  check  it  as  a national  curse/’ 

3.  In  Burma  it  is  “ the  bane  of  the  country,”  and  in 
India , although  checked  by  the  British  Government,  it  is  still 
a social  vice  of  large  magnitude.  It  is  a special  feature  of 
some  religious  festivals,  when  the  British  policy  of  non-inter- 
ference in  matters  of  religion  leads  the  Government  to  allow 
it,  on  the  ground  that  it  is  a concomitant  of  a religious  cele- 
bration. In  Persia  and  the  Turkish  Empire  it  is  apparently 
increasingly  prevalent. 

4.  It  hovers  around  the  coast-line  of  Africa , including 
Madagascar,  but  is  little  known  in  the  interior.  The  whole 
Continent  of  South  America  seems  to  be  under  the  demorali- 
zation of  this  social  curse.  In  Central  America  and  Mexico  it 
is  found  to  excess  in  all  its  forms,  and  often  under  official 
patronage.  The  South  American  Government  lotteries  are 
sources  of  vast  revenues,  portions  of  which  are  applied  to  the 
support  of  philanthropic  institutions,  and  the  remainder  is  ap- 
propriated by  the  State.  Prizes  as  high  as  six  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars  are  given,  and  some  as  high  as  a million  are  al- 
ready in  contemplation. 

Immoral  Vices. — The  immemorial  story  of  human  frailty 
and  lust,  with  their  cruel  adjuncts  of  brutality  and  crime  and 
the  wretched  aftermath  of  shame  and  misery,  is  still  in  our 
day  the  most  indelible  moral  taint  of  society  which  the 
world’s  history  presents.  There  is  no  temptation  more  uni- 
versal and  more  formidable  than  the  solicitations  of  immo- 
rality. It  is  a theme  which  leads  us  by  a short  cut  into  the 
depths  of  human  depravity,  and  we  soon  find  that  there  are 
sins  which  cannot  be  named  and  revolting  aspects  of  vice 
which  can  only  be  referred  to  with  cautious  reserve.  It  is  in 
this  connection  that  Christian  morality  wages  its  most  stub- 
born conflicts  and  vindicates  most  engagingly  its  saintly 


THE  INDIVIDUAL  GROUP 


25 


beauty  and  its  heavenly  charm.  It  is  the  same  old  story  in 
all  ages,  and  the  state  of  the  world  to-day,  except  as  Christian 
purity  has  hallowed  the  relation  of  the  sexes,  is  as  abominable 
and  nameless  as  ever. 

i.  The  old  Roman  status  in  its  essential  abandon  is  faith- 
fully reproduced  in  the  licensed  and  wholly  undisguised  Yoshi- 
wara  of  Tokyo,  which  is  quite  as  much  a matter-of-fact  feature 
of  the  city,  in  spite  of  its  horrid  commerce  in  girls,  as  its 
hotels  and  temples.  The  same  plan  of  government  provision 
for  “regulated"  vice  prevails  in  all  Japanese  cities,  and  seems 
to  be  regarded  with  quite  as  much  complacency  as  the  public 
parks  and  the  innocent-looking  tea-houses.  The  inmates  are 
virtually  the  galley-slaves  of  lust,  having  often  been  sold  by 
fathers  or  brothers  to  the  cruel  servitude ; yet,  strange  to  say, 
they  do  not  necessarily  lose  social  caste,  so  that  the  transfer  to 
the  relation  of  legal  marriage  with  the  assumption  of  an  hon- 
orable position  in  the  home  is  entirely  free  from  the  shock 
which  such  an  incident  would  involve  in  Western  or  even  in 
other  Eastern  lands.  A Japanese  may  find  there  either  a wife 
or  a concubine,  as  he  prefers,  with  hardly  more  comment  upon 
the  act  in  the  one  case  than  in  the  other.  The  fact  that  this 
is  only  rarely  done  may  be  conceded,  but  the  possibility  of 
its  being  accomplished  with  the  easy  and  complacent  assent  of 
social  sentiment  is  a significant  sign  of  the  lax  views  that  pre- 
vail. Many  Mikados,  even  in  recent  times,  have  been  born 
of  concubines. 

It  is  true  that  Japanese  law  prohibits  bigamy,  and  that 
marital  fidelity  is  exacted  so  far  as  the  conduct  of  the  wife  is 
concerned,  but  there  is  no  such  demand  upon  the  husband, 
and  still  less  upon  men  who  are  not  married.  A dual  code  is 
as  clearly  recognized  as  the  distinction  of  sex  itself.  The 
man  is  under  no  bonds  which  society  or  even  his  own  wife 
can  insist  upon.  He  is  free  to  legally  register  concubines  as 
inmates  of  his  home,  and  his  indulgence,  however  open,  meets 
no  challenge  or  rebuke,  not  even  from  Japanese  law,  which 
does  not  recognize  this  kind  of  infidelity  as  even  a partial  plea 
for  divorce. 

A candid  survey  of  the  social  history  of  Japan  would  in- 
dicate immorality  as  her  national  vice . Relics  of  phallic 
worship  are  still  to  be  found,  and  its  spirit  as  well  as  its 
openly  displayed  symbols  form  even  yet  a feature  of  festival  or 
holiday  hilarity  in  certain  sections  of  Japan.  Hardly  an  ex- 


26  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


pression  of  profanity  is  in  use,  but  obscene  references  are 
common.  Indecent  pictures  are  tolerated  with  strange  in- 
difference in  some  sections  in  the  interior  of  the  country,  even 
in  public  places  where  they  catch  the  gaze  of  multitudes. 
Art  and  literature  are  made  the  medium  of  gross  suggestive- 
ness, and  in  too  many  cases  are  defiled  with  shameless  in- 
delicacy. Some  strange  and  startling  unconventionalities  in 
connection  with  bathing  customs  and  scantiness  of  attire  seem 
to  characterize  the  every-day  life  of  the  people.  We  should 
not,  however,  judge  too  hastily  and  severely  customs  like  these 
as  necessarily  an  indication  of  special  moral  depravity,  since 
so  much  depends  upon  the  spirit  of  the  participants  and  the 
atmosphere  of  local  sentiment.  It  cannot  be  disguised,  how- 
ever, that  the  “ social  evil”  and  all  its  concomitants  are  the 
open  shame  of  Japan  more  than  of  any  other  people  outside 
the  license  of  tropical  barbarism.  An  extract  from  Neesima’s 
diary  in  1864  gives  an  insight  into  the  shocking  condition  of 
the  coast  cities  and  towns.  There  has  been  no  change  for  the 
better,  except  as  Christian  effort  has  succeeded  in  grappling 
with  the  evil.  “The  finest  houses  in  Japan  belong  to  the 
woman  in  scarlet.  . . . The  licensed  government  brothel, 

covering  acres  of  land,  is  the  most  beautiful  part  of  the  capital. 
Oriental  splendor — a myth  in  the  streets — becomes  reality 
when  the  portals  of  the  Yoshiwara  are  crossed.” 

2.  In  Korea  a severe  code  of  reserve  surrounds  woman  ; 
yet  concubinage,  amounting,  in  fact,  to  practical  polygamy,  is 
legal  and  common,  while  harlotry  flaunts  itself  with  exceptional 
boldness.  Vices  of  the  deepest  dye,  “suggestive  of  the 
society  of  Gomorrah,”  are  known  to  be  practiced  even  in  the 
highest  social  circles.  Dancing-girls  of  immoral  character 
are  employed  and  paid  by  the  Government,  and  are  subject  to 
the  call  of  the  magistrate  at  any  time. 

3.  In  China  female  chastity  is  severely  guarded,  and  there 
is  no  licensed  immorality;  yet  a state  of  things  which  is 
frankly  acknowledged  in  Japan  is  simply  an  open  secret 
among  the  Chinese.  Society  regards  it  with  a sly  frown,  the 
Government  prohibits  and  professes  to  discipline  it ; yet  vice 
festers  in  every  city  of  China  and  presents  some  shamefully 
loathsome  aspects.  The  traffic  in  young  girls,  especially 
those  who  may  be  afflicted  with  blindness,  is  the  usual 
method  of  supplying  brothels  with  their  inmates.  The  in- 
famous trade  of  the  “pocket-mother”  and  her  colonies  of 


THE  INDIVIDUAL  GROUP 


27 


native  slave-girls,  and  its  relation  to  the  opium  habit  in  the 
Straits  Settlements  and  China,  have  been  recently  brought 
vividly  to  the  attention  of  the  British  public  by  Mrs.  Andrew 
and  Dr.  Kate  Bushnell.  In  the  every-day  conversation  of  the 
Chinese,  especially  of  the  poorer  classes,  expressions  so  ex- 
ceptionally vile  that  they  cannot  be  hinted  at  are  only  too  well 
known.  “ An  English  oath  is  a winged  bullet;  Chinese  abuse 
is  a ball  of  filth,”  says  the  author  of  “Chinese  Character- 
istics.” The  notorious  books  and  placards  of  Hunan  are 
an  indication  of  the  interior  furnishing  of  the  Chinese  im- 
agination. 

4.  In  Siam  adultery  is  lightly  condemned,  and  unclean 
vices  are  practiced.  In  Thibet  the  moral  status  is  low. 
Marriage  is  often  a convenient  fiction,  and  may  be  adjusted  as 
a temporary  bargain  wherever  a man  may  happen  to  be.  Not 
only  is  polygamy  common,  but  polyandry  is  recognized  and 
practiced  among  the  peasantry. 

5.  India  occupies  an  unenviable  prominence  as  a land 
where  immoral  tendencies  have  flourished  and  brought  forth 
their  fruit  with  tropical  luxuriance.  There  is  a panoramic 
variety  in  the  phases  of  its  social  vice,  the  ill-concealed 
obscenity  of  much  of  its  sacred  literature,  and  the  immoral 
aspects  of  some  of  its  religious  rites  and  festivals.  The  social 
demoralization  which  attends  vice  is  revealed  there  to  an  un- 
usual extent — the  tell-tale  stringency  in  the  seclusion  of 
woman,  child  marriage,  low  views  of  woman’s  place  and 
function  in  society,  a contemptuous  estimate  of  her  character 
and  capacity,  tainted  family  life,  unseemly  marriage  customs, 
obscenity  in  talk  and  song,  prostitution,  concubinage,  lax 
views  of  adultery,  and  the  contamination  of  so-called  religious 
rites  and  services  with  uncleanness.  The  spirit  of  that  now 
happily  obscure  phase  of  nature-worship  which  is  known  as 
phallicism  is  distinctly  traceable  in  India.  Its  symbols  and 
signs  are  still  visible  at  many  of  the  shrines  of  Hinduism.  Its 
grosser  and  more  intolerable  features  have  been  permitted  to 
lapse  in  recent  times,  but  that  unhallowed  association  of 
fancied  religious  fervor  with  lustful  abandon  is  still  hardly 
masked  in  some  of  the  religious  festivals  and  customs  of 
Hindu  society. 

It  could  hardly  be  otherwise  when  even  the  sacred  literature 
is  not  free  from  gross  impurity,  and  many  of  the  gods  wor- 
shipped are  examples  in  vice;  when  continence  is  not  in- 


28  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 

culcated;  when  widows,  often  young  and  helpless,  are  con- 
demned by  necessity  either  to  a life  of  social  misery  or  shame; 
when  the  zenana  system  involves  the  frequent  separation  of 
husbands  and  wives,  the  former  compelled  to  be  absent,  and 
the  latter  hidden  in  unnatural  seclusion;  and  when  social 
customs  and  even  religious  observances  encourage  and  min- 
ister to  lewd  license.  The  nautch  dancing,  so  common,  gives 
to  immoral  women  social  eclat,  which  is  too  often  stimulated 
and  enhanced  by  European  patronage ; harlotry  is  notoriously 
common  in  the  towns  and  cities,  although  village  life  is  com- 
paratively free  from  it,  and  village  women  are  as  a class 
morally #well  behaved.  Hindu  temples  are  in  many  instances 
disgraced  by  indecent  symbols  and  sculptures ; while  the  old 
Greek  custom  of  having  female  attendants  attached  to  the 
temples  is  a well-known  fact  in  many  of  the  Hindu  shrines  of 
India.  These  dancing-girls  call  themselves  deva-dasi  (“  slaves 
of  the  gods”  ),  and  in  the  sense  of  being  at  the  service  of 
every  comer,  of  whatever  caste,  are  also  the  slaves  of  men. 
Young  girls  are  frequently  dedicated  in  infancy  to  some 
popular  Hindu  god,  and  the  simple  meaning  of  this  is  that 
they  are  devoted  to  a life  of  shame — branded  and  married  to 
the  god,  to  be  forever  known  as  consecrated  to  depravity  in 
the  name  of  religion.  In  fact,  immorality  is  more  distinctively 
a feature  of  Hinduism  than  morality. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  Indian  society  without  ex- 
ception is  wholly  given  over  to  this  state  of  things.  There 
are  multitudes  of  worthy  natives  who  regard  these  features  of 
Hinduism  with  contempt  and  loathing,  but  they  are  ex- 
ceptions, and  they  have  broken  with  Hinduism,  or  at  least 
with  its  moral  laxity.  English  army  life  in  India,  and  to  a 
deplorable  extent  the  habits  of  foreign  residents,  present  a 
sadly  compromising  feature  of  social  vice.  The  repeal  of  the 
Contagious  Disease  Act,  although  a moral  victory,  has  been 
too  inoperative  to  remedy  entirely  official  complicity  in  the 
supervision  and  regulation  of  vice,  as  the  evidence  before  the 
Committee  recently  appointed  by  the  Indian  Government  on 
this  subject  clearly  shows.  This  fact  was  brought  to  light 
chiefly  by  the  testimony  of  Mrs.  Elizabeth  W.  Andrew  and 
Dr.  Kate  Bushnell,  two  American  ladies  connected  with  the 
W.  C.  T.  U.,  who  in  the  service  of  the  cause  of  purity  in 
India  gave  themselves  to  the  heroic  investigation  of  the  true 
status  of  this  question. 


THE  INDIVIDUAL  GROUP 


29 


The  English  Government  is  not  unmindful,  however,  of  its 
moral  responsibility  and  its  evident  duty  to  deal  vigorously 
with  this  burning  subject  of  immorality  in  India.  Penal 
codes  and  official  regulations  seem  to  open  the  way  for  the 
suppression  or  restriction  of  many  forms  of  vice,  but  the  evil 
is  so  gigantic  that  it  can  elude  and  defy  the  law,  while  in 
deference  to  the  fanatical  religious  temper  of  India  a significant 
exception  has  been  made  by  the  Government.  In  the  clause 
of  the  penal  code  against  obscenity  in  literature  and  art  is  the 
following  caveat:  “This  Section  does  not  extend  to  any 

representation  sculptured,  engraved,  painted,  or  otherwise 
represented  on  or  in  any  temple,  or  on  any  car  used  for  the 
conveyance  of  idols,  or  kept  or  used  for  any  religious  pur- 
pose.’ * The  various  governments  of  India,  British  and 
native,  united  in  expressing  their  judgment,  with  reference  to 
the  above  exception,  that  “native  public  opinion  is  not  yet 
sufficiently  advanced  to  permit  the  destruction  of  such  in- 
decencies.” The  result  of  this  policy  of  non-interference  on 
the  part  of  the  authorities  with  the  religious  customs  of  the 
people  is  that,  however  much  of  a saturnalia  their  festivals  and 
celebrations  may  become,  they  are  free  from  legal  restraint  if 
their  indecencies  are  becomingly  pious  and  their  wickedness  is 
under  the  shelter  of  religion.  The  British  Government  has 
already  accomplished  a beneficent  role  of  reform  in  several 
respects  where  the  interests  of  humanity  required  it,  and  the 
time  will  come — Christianity  indeed  is  hastening  it — when 
the  unclean  scandals  of  Hinduism  must  go  also,  and  the 
various  unsavory  abominations  of  temple,  festival,  and  pil- 
grimage will  be  consigned  to  oblivion. 

6.  The  Mohammedan  lands  of  Afghanistan,  Arabia, 
Persia,  Turkey,  and  Northern  Africa  are  not  above  other 
sections  of  Asia  characterized  by  exceptional  immorality 
among  the  sexes.  Prostitution  is  not  carried  on  as  a profes- 
sion, except  in  the  larger  cities,  where  it  is  as  well  known  as 
elsewhere ; but  easy  divorce  and  lax  arrangements  as  to  mar- 
riage relations  open  the  way  for  a whited-sepulchre  species  of 
promiscuity  gratifying  to  the  pious  Moslem,  since  it  is  sanc- 
tioned by  his  religion  and  counted  as  socially  respectable.  As 
is  usually  the  case,  however,  where  the  relation  of  the  sexes 
is  severely  guarded  by  artificial  restrictions  in  a low  moral  en- 
vironment, the  prevalence  of  unnatural  vices  shows  that  the 
stream  of  lust  if  barred  in  one  direction  makes  for  itself  a 


30  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


channel  in  another.  There  are  aspects  of  vice  in  Moham- 
medan lands,  and  indeed  throughout  the  Eastern  world,  which 
can  only  be  referred  to  in  veiled  phrases  as  veritable  mysteries 
of  iniquity. 

7.  The  South  American  Continent  is,  with  Central  Amer- 
ica, Mexico,  and  the  West  Indies,  notorious  for  profligacy. 
The  tone  of  society  is  dissolute.  The  influence  and  example 
of  the  Romish  clergy  are  in  favor  of  laxity.  Society  both 
high  and  low  is  exceptionally  unchaste  and  vitiated  by  an  at- 
mosphere of  suspicion,  distrust,  and  prurient  sensitiveness. 
Respectable  parents  guard  their  daughters  with  the  utmost 
watchfulness  until  married,  while  their  sons,  with  few  ex- 
ceptions, give  way  to  vicious  indulgence.  The  masses  con- 
cern themselves  little  with  legal  restraints  or  formalities. 

8.  If  we  turn  now  to  the  barbarous  and  savage  races  of  the 
African  Continent  and  the  Pacific  Islands , we  find  a state  of 
morals  which  is  truly  appalling  in  its  bestiality.  The  morally 
gruesome  details  are  too  repulsive  to  admit  of  an  attempt  even 
to  summarize  them,  and  we  must  forbear. 

Self-torture. — 1.  This  is  usually  practiced  under  the 
stimulus  of  religious  fanaticism  either  to  secure  merit  or 
reverence  or  to  quiet  superstitious  fears.  It  is  especially  com- 
mon in  India  on  the  part  of  the  devotees  who  court  venera- 
tion on  account  of  supposed  sanctity.  As  the  torture  is  self- 
inflicted,  at  first  thought  one  is  inclined  to  denounce  its  folly 
and  withhold  sympathy  for  the  sufferer ; but  when  we  reflect 
that  it  is  often  endured  with  a sincere,  although  mistaken,  zeal 
as  a religious  act,  one  is  rather  inclined  to  pity  the  victim  of 
such  a delusion.  The  system  of  ascetic  legalism  which  en- 
courages such  self-inflicted  pain  is  largely  responsible  for  the 
folly  of  its  victims,  and  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel  only  will 
banish  the  haunting  consciousness  of  condemnation  which 
drives  men  to  such  cruel  expedients  to  secure  the  favor  of 
God. 

2.  There  is  a ghastly  variety  in  the  methods  of  self-torture 
practiced  in  India . Some  of  them,  such  as  hook-swinging, 
have  been  abolished  by  the  British  Government  as  offences 
against  society.  In  several  of  the  native  states,  however,  it  is 
still  in  vogue,  and  recent  reports  in  many  directions  seem  to 
indicate  defiant  attempts  to  revive  the  barbarous  spectacle  even 
in  British  India.  Devotees  and  fakirs  are  accustomed  to  give 
themselves  up  to  torture  by  fire,  or  by  reclining  for  a long 


THE  INDIVIDUAL  GROUP 


31 


period  upon  beds  of  spikes  or  sharp  stones.  Others  will  re- 
fuse to  give  themselves  rest,  or  abstain  altogether  from  sleep, 
or  hold  some  limb  in  a painful  position  until  it  becomes 
shrivelled  and  rigid.  Others  will  allow  themselves  to  be  fed 
on  any  kind  of  revolting  or  improper  food,  having  made  a 
vow  to  reject  nothing  which  is  offered  them  to  eat.  The  tests 
to  which  they  are  put  are  often  horrible  in  the  extreme.  If 
they  should  refuse  what  is  offered  them  they  would  thereby 
forfeit  their  sanctity  and  the  veneration  of  their  credulous  ad- 
mirers. A common  practice  is  to  pierce  the  body  with  large 
needles.  Frequently  iron  skewers  are  thrust  through  the 
cheeks  and  tongue,  which  are  thereby  caused  to  swell  to 
frightful  proportions.  The  flesh  is  cut  with  knives  or  pierced 
with  wire.  Men  are  sometimes  buried  to  the  neck,  or  are 
hung  by  the  heels  to  a tree.  The  worship  of  some  of  the 
cruel  Hindu  divinities,  especially  the  goddess  Kali,  is  fre- 
quently attended  with  shocking  exhibitions,  which  must  in- 
volve intense  suffering  to  the  participants. 

3.  In  China  a prominent  motive  to  self-mutilation  is  de- 
votion to  sick  parents.  Dutiful  sons  and  daughters  will  cut 
off  pieces  of  their  own  flesh,  of  which  soup  is  made  and 
given  to  a sick  or  infirm  parent.  Other  species  of  voluntary 
suffering,  not  always,  however,  from  religious  or  filial  motives, 
but  with  a view  to  gain,  are  walking  with  the  feet  or  back  bare 
in  severe  wintry  weather,  or  appearing  upon  public  occasions 
with  iron  chains  around  the  body  and  heavy  wooden  collars 
around  the  neck,  or  swinging  weighty  censers  fastened  to  the 
flesh  by  brass  hooks,  or  causing  self-deformity  or  loathsome 
ulcers  upon  the  person  with  a view  to  excite  sympathy  and 
secure  gain. 

4.  In  Mohammedan  lands  religious  celebrations  are  fre- 
quently attended  with  these  fanatical  cruelties.  Devotees  will 
pierce  and  mutilate  themselves,  and  in  some  instances  pros- 
trate themselves  upon  the  ground  to  be  trampled  upon  by 
horses  with  riders  seated  on  their  backs.  Hinduism  and 
Mohammedanism  seem  to  present  almost  the  only  exhibition 
of  this  delusion,  although  Romanism  has  encouraged  in  the 
shape  of  ascetic  penances  much  grievous  bodily  suffering, 
while  among  the  pagan  Indians  of  British  Columbia  acts  of 
extreme  self-cruelty  are  known  to  be  practiced. 

Suicide. — There  is  nothing  distinctive  in  the  act  of  self- 
destruction  in  non-Christian  lands  except  its  prevalence,  or 


32  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


the  fact  that  it  results  from  some  pessimistic  influence  of  the 
environment. 

1.  It  is  more  common  in  China  than  in  any  other  nation 
of  the  earth,  and  is  resorted  to  for  reasons  peculiar  to  Chinese 
modes  of  thought.  Its  frequency  results,  no  doubt,  from  the 
frivolous  estimate  placed  upon  human  life,  and  the  strange 
notion  that  personal  grievances  may  be  avenged  in  this  way 
and  that  more  injury  may  be  done  to  the  living  than  to  the 
victim  himself.  There  is  a singular  theory  in  Chinese  official 
circles  that  self-destruction  on  the  part  of  a ruler  in  times  of 
public  danger  is  a matter  of  high  merit.  “ The  perfect  man/’ 
according  to  Confucius,  “ is  one  who  in  the  view  of  danger  is 
prepared  to  give  up  his  life.”  The  act  is  sometimes  resorted 
to  by  military  leaders  in  time  of  defeat,  either  for  the  above 
reason,  from  a sense  of  shame,  or  to  escape  punishment  at  the 
hands  of  the  Government.  The  causes  which  lead  to  it  in 
most  cases  are  trivial,  such  as  a shortage  in  accounts,  a family 
quarrel,  jealousy,  or  marital  infelicity  arising  from  the  prac- 
tice of  polygamy.  Even  children  of  tender  years  resort  to  it 
when  disciplined  by  teachers  or  parents.  It  is  especially  prev- 
alent among  women,  on  account  of  domestic  unhappiness  or 
from  the  desire  to  punish  an  incorrigible  husband.  It  is  con- 
sidered an  act  of  merit  for  a widow  to  follow  her  husband  to 
the  grave.  Dread  of  the  matrimonial  alliance  sometimes  leads 
to  self-destruction  by  young  girls.  The  wives  of  native  con- 
verts to  Christianity  have  been  known  to  adopt  this  vigorous 
method  of  protest  to  their  husbands*  change  of  faith.  The 
doctrine  of  transmigration  no  doubt  renders  suicide  easier, 
since  the  victim  expects  to  continue  his  existence  in  a state 
possibly  better  than  the  one  he  now  occupies. 

The  most  popular  methods  of  accomplishing  the  act  are  by 
opium,  by  drowning,  or  by  eating  matches,  as  none  of  these 
instrumentalities  mutilates  the  person,  which  passes  intact  into 
another  life,  the  popular  opinion  being  that  any  mutilation  of 
the  body  in  death  must  be  continued  in  the  existence  beyond. 
The  use  of  opium  has  had  a tendency  greatly  to  facilitate  and 
multiply  suicides.  The  Chinese  New  Year  is  a favorite  time 
for  accomplishing  the  act.  A missionary  physician  reports 
having  been  called  to  ten  cases  in  a single  month,  and  to 
nearly  as  many  in  the  month  following. 

2.  In  Japan  suicide  has  occupied  a position  of  historic 
honor  which  has  characterized  it  nowhere  else  in  the  world. 


THE  INDIVIDUAL  GROUP 


33 


It  has  been  even  canonized  and  admired  as  an  object  of  hero- 
ism and  a sign  of  distinction.  Japanese  history  and  fiction 
mention  with  pride  the  various  heroes  and  heroines,  sometimes 
by  the  thousands,  who  have  distinguished  themselves  by  com- 
mitting hara-kiri , the  theory  of  which  is  that  it  is  an  exhibi- 
tion of  supreme  loyalty  to  conviction,  of  patriotic  sacrifice  in 
the  interests  of  family  pride,  or  for  the  honor  of  one’s  country. 
The  vanquished  samurai  in  the  old  feudal  days  preferred  death 
at  his  own  hand  to  falling  into  the  power  of  his  conqueror. 
Later  the  practice  came  to  be  regarded  as  a privileged  way  of 
dying  in  the  execution  of  a judicial  sentence  rather  than  hav- 
ing the  punishment  inflicted  by  other  hands. 

The  modus  operandi  of  hara-kiri , or  rather  seppuku , as  it 
is  called  in  more  classical  dialect,  was  that  the  victim  himself 
with  his  own  hand  plunged  a dirk  into  the  abdomen  until 
death  ensued.  An  improvement  has  been  introduced  in  mod- 
ern times  by  enlisting  the  services  of  a friend  upon  the  occa- 
sion, who  is  expected,  as  soon  as  the  dirk  has  been  used  by 
the  victim,  to  complete  the  act  by  immediately  beheading  the 
would-be  suicide.  This  formal  and  privileged  method  of  sui- 
cide is  not,  however,  common  in  Japan  at  present,  although, 
as  a great  favor,  capital  sentences  may  be  executed  in  this 
manner. 

Other  methods , however,  are  in  vogue,  such  as  poisoning  or 
hanging.  The  act  is  more  common  on  the  part  of  women 
than  of  men,  and  that  for  trivial  causes.  The  favorite  method 
is  by  drowning.  The  number  of  suicides  officially  reported 
in  1891  was  7,479,  and  in  1892  it  was  7,240. 

3.  In  India  in  a majority  of  instances  suicide  is  the  result 
of  unhappy  marriages  or  as  a release  from  domestic  cruelty. 
According  to  the  statement  of  a native  journal,  suicide  is  com- 
mon among  married  women,  amounting  to  eighty-one  per 
cent,  of  the  total.  A native  Brahman,  writing  on  the  present 
social  condition  of  the  Hindus,  states  that  in  connection  with 
domestic  trouble  “ suicides  are  not  uncommon.”  Deserted 
wives  are  apt  to  seek  their  own  destruction. 

In  the  East  Indies , and  still  more  so  in  New  Guinea , “ sui- 
cide is  very  common,  on  account  of  the  notoriety  it  confers.” 
In  Africa,  although  not  as  frequent  as  might  be  expected,  it  is 
often  resorted  to. 

Idleness  and  Improvidence. — Idle  and  shiftless  habits  in 
the  individual  rob  society  of  the  personal  increment  of  labor 


34  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


and  thrift  which  he  might  contribute,  and  make  him  rather  a 
burden  to  others  as  well  as  a hindrance  to  progress.  A dili- 
gent and  thrifty  spirit,  on  the  other  hand,  is  a positive  factor 
in  social  prosperity. 

1.  Idleness  results  not  alone  from  indolence,  but  among 
African  savages  it  is  the  fruit  of  pride.  Labor  is  a disgrace  in 
the  estimation  of  millions  of  lusty  barbarians,  whose  ideal  of  dig- 
nity is  luxurious  laziness.  The  heavier  as  well  as  the  lighter 
toils  of  life  are  left  for  the  women  to  assume,  who  are  in  most 
African  communities  doomed  to  drudgery  and  severe  servi- 
tude. The  result  is  an  undisciplined,  flabby,  and  shiftless 
character,  living  in  such  careless,  happy-go-lucky  ways  that 
the  native  African  as  a rule  is  socially  a worthless  drone,  ex- 
cept when  it  suits  his  barbarous  fancy  to  play  the  equally  ob- 
jectionable role  of  a professional  warrior  and  plunderer.  The 
Mashonas  are  said  to  be  “born  tired/’  so  incorrigible  is  their 
aversion  to  work.  On  the  West  Coast  labor  is  regarded  with 
both  contempt  and  dread. 

2.  In  the  Pacific  Islands  the  same  spirit  of  sloth  prevails 
among  the  primitive  races.  “The  conduct  of  the  men  of 
Aniwa  is  to  stand  by  or  sit  and  look  on  while  their  women  do 
the  work,”  was  the  unctuous  reply  of  a group  of  New  Hebri- 
des worthies  to  the  appeal  of  Dr.  Paton  that  they  should  en- 
gage in  some  useful  occupation.  Among  the  Negro  and  In- 
dian races  of  the  world,  wherever  the  blight  of  barbarism  pre- 
vails, industrious  habits  are  practically  unknown.  Life  is 
given  over  to  shiftlessness  and  vice,  while  the  storehouses 
stand  empty  and  the  fields  lie  barren  and  neglected. 

3.  Idleness  in  the  more  advanced  nations,  such  as  China , 
Korea , and  India,  is  productive  of  a vast  system  of  vagrancy, 
and  is  responsible  for  much  pitiable  poverty.  There  are  Beg- 
gars’ Guilds  in  most  of  the  large  cities  of  China,  so  organized 
that  what  amounts  to  a regular  tax  of  blackmail  is  exacted 
from  society.  If  the  expected  contribution  is  not  forthcom- 
ing, it  is  enforced  by  formidable  raids  or  persecuting  appeals, 
which  are  generally  effective.  Korea  is  “ full  of  Micawbers.” 
They  play  the  role  of  parasites,  blackmailers,  and  uninvited 
guests,  forming  themselves  into  a sort  of  syndicate  of  social 
harpies,  from  whose  impertinence  and  tyranny  the  Government 
is  often  called  upon  to  protect  the  well-to-do  classes.  Official 
plunderers,  however,  are  just  as  bad  in  their  way,  and  are  re- 
sponsible for  much  of  the  improvidence  of  the  people,  as  their 


Class  in  Agriculture— Industrial  Department. 
Class  in  Printing — Industrial  Department. 

Lovedale  Institution,  South  Africa 


THE  INDIVIDUAL  GROUP 


35 


rapacity  makes  prosperity  and  providence  almost  impossible, 
since  any  effort  at  accumulation  only  tempts  the  officials  to 
prey  upon  those  who  have  the  good  fortune  to  lay  up  anything 
in  store. 

4.  In  India  the  evils  of  ?ne7idicancy  prevail.  The  poverty 
is  extreme,  and  with  it  there  is  much  improvidence  and  reck- 
lessness as  to  debt.  Costly  and  exacting  social  customs  are 
responsible  for  the  impoverishment  of  many  families,  espe- 
cially the  expenses  connected  with  marriages  and  burials. 
The  economic  problems  of  India  are  truly  formidable.  Debt, 
thriftlessness,  and  the  prevalent  poverty  make  the  social  con- 
dition of  the  people  pitiable,  and  any  hopeful  reform  or  eco- 
nomic expedients  which  would  help  India  to  wiser  methods  of 
living  would  be  an  unspeakable  benefit. 

5.  In  the  countries  of  South  America  there  is  a blight  of 
indolence  and  thriftlessness  which  sadly  depresses  social  pros- 
perity. An  infusion  of  energy,  foresight,  and  industrial  as- 
pirations would  be  of  the  highest  economic  value  to  all  South 
American  peoples.  The  idler  and  the  drone  are  there,  as 
elsewhere,  an  injury  and  a bane  to  society. 

Excessive  Pride  and  Self-exaltation. — 1.  Inordinate 

self-esteem  in  the  individual  affects  society  when  it  becomes  a 
barrier  to  the  entrance  of  new  and  progressive  ideas  from 
without.  Vanity,  conceit,  and  self-worship  may  so  prejudice 
the  mind  that  it  becomes  blind  to  better  things,  and  shuts  it- 
self up  in  its  own  provincial  ignorance,  refusing  all  help  and 
inspiration  from  other  sources.  Progress  becomes  impossible. 
Rigid  conservatism  hardens  into  stupid  contentment  with 
things  as  they  are.  Conceit  and  self-complacency  bar  the 
path  of  improvement.  The  modern  world  is  viewed  with  con- 
tempt, and  all  outside  the  little  environment  of  primitive  life 
which  surrounds  the  victim  of  his  own  foolish  pride  is  viewed 
with  suspicion  and  disdain.  This  pitiable  exaltation  of  igno- 
rance may  be  intellectual  and  spiritual,  shutting  out  the  light 
of  truth,  or  it  may  be  social  and  material,  rejecting  the  facilities 
and  discoveries  of  the  modern  world.  In  either  case  it  is  an 
incalculable  injury  to  society.  It  retards  and  arrests  social 
development,  and  postpones  indefinitely  the  entrance  of  nobler 
and  larger  life. 

2.  Every  Asiatic  nation  suffers  more  or  less  from  this  con- 
sciousness of  its  own  superiority,  although  the  energy  and  push 
of  modern  enterprise  and  the  growing  influence  of  missionary 


36  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


education  are  rapidly  breaking  down  prejudice  and  letting  in 
the  light  of  wiser  methods  and  larger  knowledge.  Of  all 
Asiatic  nations  the  Chinese  are  conspicuous  for  stolid  conserv- 
atism and  inflated  pride.  They  belong  to  the  ‘ ‘ Middle  King- 
dom/’ and  the  outside  world  of  barbarism  lies  around  them 
as  the  centre.  Everything  outside  of  China  is  inferior,  and 
all  foreigners  or  foreign  ideas  are  looked  upon  with  contempt 
and  hatred.  One  of  the  chief  functions  of  the  Chinese  is  to 
humiliate  the  rest  of  the  world  and  teach  it  useful  lessons  of 
its  own  insignificance. 

3.  I?i  Japan  this  trait  reveals  itself  rather  in  national  vanity 
and  intellectual  conceit.  There  is  some  excuse,  however,  for 
Japan’s  self-consciousness.  She  is  in  marked  and  favorable 
contrast  with  China  in  her  readiness  to  recognize  the  progress 
of  more  enlightened  nations  and  avail  herself  of  every  benefit 
which  the  genius  of  the  Occident  has  provided.  Her  great 
danger  is  that  intellectual  pride  and  moral  hauteur  will  deprive 
her  fair  land  of  the  uplifting  influences  of  Christian  enlight- 
enment. Much,  however,  will  be  said  elsewhere  to  encourage 
the  hope  that  the  Japanese  will  resist  this  tendency  to  intel- 
lectual arrogance,  and  welcome  the  nobler  teachings  of  Chris- 
tianity. 

4.  Korea  has  shut  herself  up  in  the  seclusion  of  ignorance 
for  centuries,  and  only  recently,  through  the  force  of  circum- 
stances, has  the  spell  of  her  isolation  been  broken.  Her 
upper  classes  and  literati  are  steeped  in  pride,  while  the  lower 
classes  are  still  blinded  with  prejudice. 

5.  In  Siam  the  spirit  of  Oriental  self-complacency  greatly 
retards  the  development  of  the  nation,  although  the  influence 
of  an  enlightened  and  liberal  king  is  doing  much  to  encourage 
larger  aspirations  among  his  people. 

6.  India  is  the  camping-ground  of  Brahmanic  pride,  the 
very  acme  of  supercilious  conceit,  and  presents  also  notable 
illustrations  of  that  absurd  self-exaltation  of  the  so-called  dev- 
otees and  holy  men  of  Hinduism.  The  whole  tendency  of 
Hinduism  is  to  stimulate  self-esteem,  while  caste  is  a bulwark 
of  pride  in  its  most  sublime  proportions.  The  subtle  specula- 
tions of  Hindu  religious  thought  have  given  a fascination  to 
philosophical  themes,  and  have  developed  intellectual  conceit 
to  an  extraordinary  degree.  The  Hindu  religionist  is  pride 
incarnate,  while  the  shadow  of  a Brahman  is  a natural  phe- 
nomenon more  impressive  than  a sunrise. 


THE  INDIVIDUAL  GROUP 


37 


7.  The  Mohammedan  is  a noted  rival  of  the  Hindu  in  re- 
ligious and  intellectual  pride.  No  more  striking  exhibition  of 
the  paralyzing  effect  of  the  haughty  spirit  of  Islam  can  be 
found  than  the  social  and  intellectual  condition  of  the  lands 
dominated  by  the  Moslem.  The  Turkish  Empire,  Persia,  the 
North  African  countries,  and  Arabia  are  samples  of  lands 
where  pride  rules  with  blighting  sway. 

8.  The  African , as  a rule,  may  be  said  to  be  vain  and  con- 
ceited in  proportion  to  the  density  of  his  ignorance.  If  we 
take  the  Matabele  as  a sample,  we  can  hardly  find  his  equal 
for  overweening  pride  and  self-importance.  The  result  has 
been  manifest  in  thirty  years  of  stagnation  even  under  the  in- 
fluence of  faithful  missionary  effort.  The  conquest  of  the  na- 
tion by  British  arms,  when  permanently  accomplished,  will  be 
a blessing,  and  no  doubt  beat  down  those  hitherto  impene- 
trable barriers  which  pride  has  erected.  The  pitiable  condi- 
tion of  the  proud  savages  of  the  earth  is  owing  in  some  meas- 
ure to  their  intense  satisfaction  with  their  own  fancied  supe- 
riority, and  is  a telling  lesson  of  the  social  perils  of  pride.  A 
religion  which  would  teach  to  these  nations  the  true  exaltation 
of  humility — its  beauty,  its  nobility,  and  its  gentle  charm — 
would  be  a helpful  blessing  to  the  soul  itself  and  to  all  its  social 
environment. 

Moral  Delinquencies. — 1.  A terrible  and  pitiable  count 
must  be  made  under  this  head  against  the  entire  non-Christian 
world.  The  very  foundations  of  social  integrity  and  pros- 
perity are  shaken  by  such  vices  as  untruthfulness  and  dishon- 
esty. Truthfulness  is  a prime  essential  to  mutual  confidence, 
and  honesty  is  a fundamental  condition  of  just  and  fair  inter- 
course. Where  society  is  permeated  with  a spirit  of  deceit 
and  knavery,  where  a lie  is  a commonplace  and  cheating  is 
resorted  to  without  compunction,  all  moral  health  and  stability 
seem  to  have  been  destroyed.  A lie  will  be  met  by  a lie. 
Deceit  will  overreach  deceit.  Cheating  will  be  matched  by 
cheating;  and  all  the  arts  of  dishonesty  will  be  excelled  by 
some  fresh  ingenuity  in  fraud. 

As  the  status  of  non-  Christian  nations  in  respect  to  these 
moral  qualities  is  studied,  one  is  tempted  to  say,  not  in  haste, 
but  with  calm  deliberation,  “ All  men  are  liars.”  That  there 
are  individual  exceptions  is  happily  true,  but  as  a rule  the 
world  of  heathenism  lieth  in  the  wickedness  of  deceit  and  dis- 
honesty. Little  can  be  said  of  any  one  nation  in  favorable 


3a  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


contrast  with  others.  Each  in  turn  seems  to  pose  as  an  expert 
in  the  guilty  arts  of  deception. 

2.  Among  the  Japanese  lying  is  a sadly  common  fault  of 
daily  life.  This  is  acknowledged  by  themselves,  and  such  is 
the  testimony  of  those  who  know  the  country  well.  To  their 
credit,  however,  it  may  be  said  that  their  patriotism  and  ex- 
ceptional loyalty  to  public  responsibilities  save  them  to  a nota- 
ble extent  from  the  official  dishonesty  and  corruption  which 
characterize  the  Chinese. 

3.  China  is  preeminently  “ empire  of  make-believe.” 
Amid  high-sounding  pretensions  “a  universal  dishonesty  of 
mind  poisons  the  sap  of  the  nation  and  produces  all  the  can- 
cers and  evils  which  have  made  China  a byword  for  deceit 
and  corruption.”  True  honor  and  uprightness  seem  to  be 
lightly  esteemed  by  all  classes  of  society.  The  Rev.  Arthur 
Smith,  in  “ Chinese  Characteristics,”  has  an  entire  chapter  on 
“ The  Absence  of  Sincerity.”  The  testimony  of  Dr.  S.  Wells 
Williams,  in  summing  up  his  estimate  of  the  Chinese  charac- 
ter, includes  “the  universal  practice  of  lying  and  dishonest 
dealings.”  The  Chinese  seem  to  share  with  the  Persians  the 
melancholy  distinction  of  being  “a  nation  of  liars.”  A fla- 
grant exhibition  of  the  Chinese  capacity  for  misrepresentation 
has  recently  attracted  the  attention  of  the  world  in  the  anti-for- 
eign publications  which  are  so  full  of  monstrous  falsehoods. 
A Chinaman  will  steal  almost  as  easily  as  he  will  lie,  and  will 
cheat  with  a facility  and  deftness  which  make  him  proverbial 
for  “ ways  that  are  dark  and  tricks  that  are  vain.” 

4.  In  Siam , j Burma,  and  Assam  the  rule  of  untruthfulness 
still  holds.  A fresh  illustration  of  the  ready  application  of 
the  inveterate  habit  was  discovered  by  Dr.  McKean  of  Laos, 
who  has  recently  introduced  vaccination  among  the  people. 
As  soon  as  its  beneficial  effects  were  manifest,  unprincipled 
charlatans  were  going  about  the  country  vaccinating  the  peo- 
ple with  some  worthless  compound  of  their  own,  boldly  assert- 
ing that  they  had  obtained  vaccine  virus  from  the  foreigner  in 
Chieng  Mai.  Dr.  Marston  at  Ambala  has  detected  the  same 
exhibition  of  unscrupulous  dishonesty  in  sly  medicine-selling 
behind  her  back.  The  Assamese  have  hardly  a proper  word 
in  their  language  to  indicate  honesty.  “ Trade  does  not  go 
on  without  falsehood,”  is  a proverb  among  them. 

5.  India  is  a realm  where  untruthfulness,  dishonesty,  and 
perjury  are  all  characteristic  of  the  people.  We  mean  charac- 


THE  INDIVIDUAL  GROUP 


39 


teristic  in  the  sense  that  they  are  notoriously  common.  Ad- 
vancing through  Central  Asia,  Thibet  and  the  lands  that  lie 
in  our  pathway  toward  Persia  present  the  same  monotonous 
traits  of  unscrupulousness  in  word  and  dealing,  while  in  Per- 
sia “ every  one  walks  warily  and  suspiciously  through  a maze 
of  fraud  and  falsehood/ ’ According  to  the  testimony  of  a 
Persian  nobleman  in  conversation  with  Mrs.  Bishop,  “Lying 
is  rotting  this  country.  Persians  tell  lies  before  they  can 
speak.’ ’ The  land  is  said  to  be  “ a hotbed  of  lies  and  intrigue. 
Nothing  can  be  done  without  stratagem.  The  thing  that 
strikes  them  about  an  Englishman  is  that  he  does  not  lie.” 
To  be  called  a liar  in  Persia  is  considered  a very  mild  insult. 
Curzon,  in  his  book  on  Persia,  remarks,  “I  am  convinced 
that  the  true  son  of  Iran  would  sooner  lie  than  tell  the  truth, 
and  that  he  feels  twinges  of  desperate  remorse  when  upon  oc- 
casions he  has  thoughtlessly  strayed  into  veracity.” 

6.  The  Ticrkish  Empire  is  full  of  dissimulation.  The  arts 
of  lying  are  not  by  any  means  monopolized  by  the  Moslem 
population,  but  the  subject  Christian  races,  incited  by  fear  in 
the  presence  of  their  unscrupulous  rulers,  have  long  practiced 
in  self-defence  habits  of  falsehood  and  deceit,  for  which  they 
are  still  noted.  The  whole  routine  of  life  is  fairly  riddled 
with  a running  fire  of  deception  and  dishonest  dealing. 

7.  Poor  Africa  may  be  said  to  be  a continent  of  lies  and 
a paradise  of  thievery.  The  native  savage  is  trained  in  the 
arts  of  plunder,  and  lives  by  crafty  wiles.  Here,  above  all 
places  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  a lie  seems  to  be  loved  for  its 
own  sake,  and  a man  must  be  taken  for  a thief  and  a rogue 
until  he  is  proved  to  be  the  contrary. 

8.  The  barbarous  races  of  the  Pacific  Islands  present  no 
exception  to  this  sombre  catalogue  of  nations  who  love  a lie. 
Thievery  and  cheating  seem  to  be  habitual  and  universal  char- 
acteristics of  these  poor  people,  who  have  known  no  higher 
standards  of  morality  than  those  suggested  by  the  master  pas- 
sions of  covetousness  and  lust. 

Substantially  the  same  story  applies  to  the  West  Indies ; and 
even  South  America  and  Mexico,  where  nominal  Christianity 
has  been  in  evidence  for  centuries,  are  lands  where  lying  and 
dishonesty  are  grievously  to  the  front. 


Ill 


THE  FAMILY  GROUP 

(Evils  affecting  primarily  the  family,  and  secondarily  society  through  the 

family) 

Family  Status  in  Classical  and  Heathen  Civiliza- 
tions.— The  historic  result  of  heathenism  is  a demoralized 
family  life.  In  no  particular  does  the  inexorableness  of  the 
evolutionary  process,  apart  from  the  culture  of  Christianity, 
appear  more  clearly  than  in  the  steady  and  invariable  trend  of 
pagan  society  towards  the  disruption  and  practical  destruction 
of  the  ideal  family  relation. 

i.  The  status  of  marriage  and  of  domestic  life  in  ancient 
Grecian  and  Roman  civilization  was  marked  by  a dreary  deg- 
radation of  the  marital  relation  to  a political  institution  whose 
highest  function  was  the  service  of  the  State  in  producing  citi- 
zens, and  in  which  all  sacredness  and  refinement  seemed  to 
have  been  sunk  in  communal  laxity.  Marriage  was  considered 
as  a species  of  political  incubator,  and  woman  was  simply  a 
necessary  tool,  to  be  used  indiscriminately  in  case  the  highest 
interests  of  the  State  required  it.  It  was  Plato’s  suggestion 
that  in  the  perfect  republic  the  warriors  should  have  the  women 
in  common.  The  aim  of  marriage  was  purely  civil,  and  was 
looked  upon  in  the  light  of  a duty  to  the  State.  The  natural 
result  was  a degraded  womanhood  and  an  easy  descent  into  a 
state  of  indifference  as  to  all  legal  forms  and  restrictions. 
Ancient  heathen  civilization  was  committed  by  the  force  of 
tradition  and  custom  to  the  degradation  of  woman.  It  offered 
no  goal  of  social  dignity,  no  inspiration  of  hope;  it  gave  no 
promise  of  grateful  recognition  and  sacred  security.  Woman 
was  made  to  feel  that  she  was  a mere  convenience,  and  was 
allowed  to  have  no  real  basis  of  self-respect.  Her  existence 
was,  as  a rule,  passed  in  practical  slavery,  and  her  outlook  was 
one  of  hopeless  inanity.  This  situation,  as  was  to  be  expected, 
developed  those  peculiar  vices  and  weaknesses  which,  with 
some  notable  exceptions,  have  marked  her  character  in  non- 
Christian  society  for  ages. 


40 


THE  FAMILY  GROUP 


41 


2.  On  the  other  hand,  Christianity  from  the  first  has  rec- 
ognized her  equality  of  soul,  her  personal  rights,  her  moral 
and  intellectual  capabilities,  and  has  given  her  a sacred  place 
of  honor  in  the  home.  The  Christian  ideal  of  the  family  has 
been  substituted  for  the  communal  function  of  a propagator  of 
the  State  on  the  one  hand,  and  a victim  of  lust  on  the  other. 
The  secret  springs  of  the  social  degradation  of  woman  in  an- 
cient heathenism  are  pride  and  selfishness  on  the  part  of  her 
immemorial  masters.  Pride  kept  her  in  subjection,  relegated 
her  to  a political  nursery,  and  treated  her  with  disdain  and 
contumely.  Selfishness  refused  her  considerate  and  kindly 
treatment,  denied  her  privileged  companionship,  and  made 
her  the  sport  of  sensual  desires. 

3.  One  does  not  have  to  look  long  at  the  social  status  of 
woman  to-day  in  non- Christian  lands  to  discover  how  largely 
that  same  pride  and  selfishness  take  the  old  causal  relation  to 
her  present  degradation.  Even  the  sorry  dignity  accorded 
her  as  the  servant  of  the  State  has  for  the  most  part  disap- 
peared, and  she  has  become  rather  a useful  instrument  in 
maintaining  the  male  line  of  descent  for  the  satisfaction  of 
her  master.  Almost  without  exception,  in  the  heathen  civili- 
zations of  the  present  day  she  is  regarded  with  severe  suspi- 
cion, scant  respect,  and  cool  superciliousness.  Her  marital 
rights  are  scouted,  while  as  a rule  her  marital  duties  are  jeal- 
ously exacted.  The  conception  of  an  elevated,  honored,  and 
sacred  womanhood  may  be  said  to  be  sadly  uncommon  in  the 
traditions  and  customs  of  purely  heathen  civilization.  What- 
ever of  dignity  and  consideration  she  has  received  in  the  mod- 
ern transformations  of  non-Christian  society  has  been  the  re- 
sult, more  or  less  direct,  of  the  modifying  influence  of  Chris- 
tian teaching. 

The  group  of  social  evils  which  centres  about  the  family 
presents  several  salient  aspects  which  call  for  specific  notice. 
Among  these  we  note : 

The  Degradation  of  Woman. — 1.  One  of  the  most  con- 
spicuous and  unmistakable  insignia  of  false  religious  systems  is 
their  treatment  of  woman.  They  seem  to  be  both  bewildered 
and  undone  by  her  very  existence.  The  sentiments  they  pro- 
mulgale  co?icerning  her  and  the  treatment  they  accord  her 
stamp  them  with  defects  and  blunders  differentiating  them  at 
once  and  forever  from  the  pure  code  and  the  high  ideal  of 
Christianity.  Ethnic  religions  and  barbarous  civilizations 


42  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


have  united  their  forces  in  the  consignment  of  womankind  to 
a state  of  degradation — a fact  which  rises  up  in  judgment 
against  these  erroneous  systems  in  all  ages  of  history,  and  in 
no  period  more  pronouncedly  than  in  our  present  century. 
She  is  still  regarded,  as  of  old,  in  a non-Christian  environment 
as  a scandal  and  a slave,  a drudge  and  a disgrace,  a tempta- 
tion and  a terror,  a blemish  and  a burden — at  once  the  touch- 
stone and  stumbling-block  of  human  systems,  the  sign  and 
shame  of  the  non-Christian  world. 

The  status  of  woman  outside  of  Christendom  may  be  indi- 
cated by  the  estimate  put  upon  her,  by  the  opportunity  given 
her,  by  the  function  assigned  her,  by  the  privilege  accorded 
her,  and  by  the  service  expected  of  her.  The  estimate,  as  a 
rule,  is  low,  rarely  rising  above  a physical  or  sensuous  plane ; 
the  opportunity  afforded  her  is  meagre,  in  fact,  often  prohibi- 
tory ; the  function  assigned  her  is  that  of  reproduction  and 
the  gratification  of  man’s  baser  passions;  the  privilege  ex- 
tended to  her  is  rarely  other  than  to  be  suspected,  distrusted, 
guarded  with  jealous  seclusion,  sometimes  bought  and  sold  as 
a chattel,  married  at  the  will  of  fathers  or  brothers,  or  pos- 
sibly consigned  to  some  worse  fate,  beaten  if  necessary,  and 
kept  in  due  subjection  by  tokens  and  signs  of  inferiority;  the 
service  expected  of  her  is  for  the  most  part  the  menial  drudg- 
ery and  the  hard  toil  of  life.  This  indictment  is  too  general 
to  pass  unchallenged  in  specific  cases,  and  it  will  not,  of 
course,  hold  in  every  particular  in  all  countries  alike;  but  as 
an  average,  all-around  statement  it  is  not  beyond  what  the 
facts  will  justify,  and  can  be  supported  by  abundant  and  in- 
dubitable evidence. 

It  will  be  sufficient  for  our  present  purpose  if  we  can  gather 
into  clusters  or  groups  the  facts  which  indicate  the  social  con- 
dition of  woman,  collecting  them,  as  it  were,  around  some 
characteristic  feature  of  her  status. 

2.  Take,  for  instance,  the  various  signs  and  tokens  of  in- 
feriority which  are  imposed  upon  her.  These  seem  to  form  a 
motley  group  by  themselves,  clustering  together  in  grim  pic- 
turesqueness as  a grotesque  medley  of  grimaces  and  scowls,  of 
haughty  airs  and  self-complacent  attitudes,  of  boorish  vulgari- 
ties and  malicious  insults.  The  common  bond  of  affinity  run- 
ning through  them  all  is  well  symbolized  by  that  significant 
confession  of  a bland  Hindu , that  there  was  at  least  one  doc- 
trine upon  which  all  Hindu  sects  were  agreed  : “ We  all  be- 


THE  FAMILY  GROUP 


43 


lieve  in  the  sanctity  of  the  cow  and  in  the  depravity  of 
woman.” 

The  Japanese  contribution  to  the  picture  has  less  of  gross- 
ness and  more  of  natural  refinement  in  it  than  that  of  any 
other  Eastern  nation.  Japanese  women  are  gentler  and  more 
attractive  than  those  of  the  ruder  lands  of  the  East,  and  al- 
though the  estimate  in  which  they  are  held  is  one  of  pro- 
nounced inferiority,  yet  the  signs  and  tokens  of  it  are  not  so 
offensive  as  elsewhere.  The  usual  exacting  manifestations  of 
subjection  to  the  husband  are  less  conspicuous;  neither  are 
they  insisted  upon  with  such  ruthless  inconsiderateness  as  in 
China,  India,  and  throughout  Mohammedan  lands.  The 
power  of  a father,  natural  and  right  within  proper  limitations, 
is,  however,  often  grievously  misused  in  committing  a daugh- 
ter to  a life  of  disrepute.  Among  the  peasantry  drudgery  is 
shared  by  husbands,  fathers,  and  brothers.  In  fact,  there  is 
probably  no  nation  outside  of  Christendom,  with  possibly  the 
exception  of  Burma,  where  woman’s  lot  is  so  free  from  the 
signs  of  inferiority  as  in  Japan. 

The  Chinese  contingent  in  the  scene  is  largely  in  evidence. 
The  tokens  of  disdain  are  not  wanting  in  China.  Woman  is 
“ moulded  out  of  faults.”  Even  the  Chinese  hieroglyphic  for 
woman,  if  doubled,  signifies  “to  wrangle”;  if  trebled  it  means 
“ intrigue  ” ; a compound  of  the  symbols  for  “ women  ” and 
“together”  yields  a composite  sign  which  signifies  “to  sus- 
pect, dislike,  or  loathe.”  No  husband  would  willingly  appear 
in  public  with  his  wife.  If  he  is  obliged  to  escort  her,  she 
must  walk  well  in  front  as  a sign  of  her  inferior  position.  If 
by  chance  he  refers  to  her,  he  is  apt  to  designate  her  as  his 
“dull  thorn,”  or  some  equally  derogatory  expression.  Little 
or  no  mourning  follows  her  death.  Her  marriage  is  at  the 
will,  and  in  accordance  with  the  choice,  of  parents,  who 
usually  commit  the  matter  to  professional  matchmakers,  an 
untrustworthy  and  unscrupulous  class,  who  generally  drive 
their  own  bargains  with  a view  to  their  own  sordid  advantage. 
The  bride  rarely  sees  her  husband  before  marriage,  and  does 
not  even  eat  with  him  afterward.  The  Chinese  idea  of  wifely 
demeanor  is  that  of  abject  dependence  and  subdued  inanity. 
She  is  by  no  means  to  be  known  outside  of  her  own  house, 
and  even  in  it  she  must  disappear  altogether  if  any  chance 
male  visitor  should  come.  She  is  considered  a burden  by  her 
parents,  and  must  be  their  servant  until  married,  which 


44  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


amounts  simply  to  an  entrance  into  another  state  of  servitude 
to  her  parents-in-law,  often  a cruel  and  exacting  bondage  from 
which  relief  is  sometimes  sought  in  suicide ; and  even  in  this 
there  is  no  escape  from  the  lifelong  lot  of  service,  since  she  is 
thought  to  become  in  the  next  life  the  servant  of  her  husband, 
to  whom,  according  to  the  Chinese  code,  she  belongs  both  for 
time  and  eternity.  The  husband’s  power  over  her,  like  that 
of  the  father  in  Japan,  is  almost  limitless. 

What  has  been  said  of  the  condition  of  women  in  China  is 
applicable,  with  hardly  any  variation,  to  her  lot  in  Korea . It 
is  a relief,  however,  to  note  that  in  both  countries  the  every- 
day, commonplace  life  of  the  laboring  classes  is  largely  free 
from  this  whole  round  of  finical  and  farcical  exactions. 

India  makes  a conspicuous  contribution  of  signs  and  tokens 
of  inferiority  in  her  estimate  of  woman.  She  is  there  counted 
little  more  than  a “ necessary  machine  for  producing  children.” 
Her  degradation,  if  indeed  she  is  allowed  to  live,  begins  at 
her  birth,  which  is  a time  of  condolence  rather  than  of  re- 
joicing, and  when  she  is  received  rather  as  a nuisance  and  a 
burden.  She  is  forbidden  access  to  the  sacred  books  of  the 
Hindu  religion.  While  still  young  the  only  ceremonial  acts 
of  worship  and  sacrifice  allowed  her  are  with  a view  to  secur- 
ing a husband,  and  after  her  marriage  all  right  of  approach 
to  the  gods  in  her  own  name  and  on  her  own  behalf  is  denied 
her.  Even  her  worship  must  be  entirely  in  the  name  of  her 
husband.  After  her  marriage  she  is  bound  forever  in  life  and 
in  death  by  indissoluble  bonds  to  her  husband,  according  to 
the  plain  precepts  of  Manu,  although  the  British  law  now 
grants  the  liberty  of  remarriage  to  a widow.  She  must  revere 
her  husband  as  a god,  and  bear  meekly  his  infidelity  without 
the  slightest  claim  to  divorce.  She  must  never  go  out  of  the 
house  without  the  consent  of  her  husband.  If  he  goes  upon  a 
journey,  according  to  the  teaching  of  the  Sastra,  his  wife  shall 
not  “divert  herself  by  play,  nor  see  any  public  show,  nor 
laugh,  nor  dress  herself  in  jewels  and  fine  clothes,  nor  see 
dancing,  nor  hear  music,  nor  sit  at  the  window,  nor  ride  out, 
nor  behold  anything  choice  and  rare,  but  shall  fasten  well  the 
house  door  and  remain  private.”  And,  finally,  she  must  be 
reborn  into  the  world  as  a man  before  she  can  hope  for  any 
favored  lot  in  the  life  beyond. 

In  Mohammedan  India , and  all  through  the  belt  of  Islamic 
lands  to  the  northwest  corner  of  Africa,  substantially  the  same 


THE  FAMILY  GROUP 


45 


spirit  of  punctilious  disdain  of  womankind  prevails.  The 
code  of  the  harem  is  virtually  one,  and  it  is  the  same  with  the 
doctrine  of  the  zenana. 

In  savage  Africa  and  among  the  barbarous  nations  of  Poly- 
nesia the  signs  and  tokens  of  woman’s  inferiority  become  more 
painful  and  brutal.  She  is  bought  and  sold  like  a chattel, 
and  for  a consideration  so  insignificant  that  we  can  hardly 
rank  her  as  superior  to  the  domestic  animals.  “ Five  large 
blue  glass  beads  will  buy  a woman”  in  some  sections  of 
Africa,  but  it  takes  “ ten  to  buy  a cow.”  Even  stranger 
stories  than  this  are  reported  of  daughters  sold  and  wives  pur- 
chased among  the  interior  tribes.  She  often  eats  with  the 
dogs,  and  she  may  be  thankful  if  when  her  husband  dies  she 
is  not  tossed  with  his  dead  body  into  the  same  grave.  Many 
a burly  savage  thinks  it  unmanly  to  treat  her  with  kindness 
and  consideration.  She  is  reckoned  of  little  account  to  heart 
or  home.  Inferiority  sinks  almost  into  worthlessness  in  the 
estimation  of  masculine  barbarians. 

3.  Notice  again  the  various  deprivations  and  restrictions , 
many  of  them  cruel  and  humiliating,  which  are  inflicted  upon 
her.  She  is  deprived  of  knowledge  and  all  opportunity  for  in- 
tellectual culture.  She  must  not  be  taught  to  read.  The 
more  profound  her  ignorance,  the  more  safely  is  she  preserved 
from  the  perils  of  wisdom.  According  to  the  latest  census  re- 
port in  India,  an  average  of  only  six  women  in  a thousand 
know  how  to  read,  and  only  one  out  of  every  hundred  between 
the  ages  of  five  and  fifteen  enjoys  any  educational  advantage. 
The  total  of  absolutely  illiterate  women  in  the  country 
amounts,  in  round  numbers,  to  128,000,000.  This  same  ter- 
rible standard  of  ignorance  is  maintained,  with  some  modifi- 
cations, throughout  the  entire  non-Christian  world.  The  de- 
lights and  benefits  of  knowledge,  except  where  Christian 
influences  have  been  introduced,  are  ruthlessly  denied  her  as 
both  unnecessary  and  dangerous. 

In  the  same  spirit  she  is  deprived  of  her  legitimate  liberty . 
She  is  imprisoned  in  the  zenanas  of  North  India,  shut  up  in 
the  harems  of  Mohammedans,  confined  to  the  inner  seclusion 
of  her  Chinese  home,  and  among  the  higher  classes  of  Korea 
her  isolation  is  perhaps  more  prison-like  and  terrible  than  else- 
where. In  China  if  she  ventures  out  of  her  house  she  must  be 
carefully  hidden  in  the  sedan-chair,  or  if  she  should  appear 
upon  the  streets  unguarded  she  must  expect  to  be  jeered  and 


46  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CIIRISTIAN  WORLD 


berated,  even  if  she  is  not  insulted.  Pleasant  exceptions  to 
these  severe  restrictions  may  be  noted  in  Japan,  Siam,  and 
Burma,  where  women  (except  in  the  case  of  royalty)  enjoy  a 
freedom  unusual  in  Eastern  lands.  In  Southern  India  the 
zenanas  of  the  Punjab  are  not  known,  and  much  more  personal 
freedom  is  allowed.  It  is  gratifying  to  note  also  that  among 
the  peasantry  and  the  working  classes,  living  for  the  most 
part  in  villages,  these  artificial  restrictions  are  almost  alto- 
gether discarded. 

A severe  code  of  obligation  is  almost  universally  main- 
tained with  reference  to  woman’s  duty  in  case  of  her  husband* s 
death.  She  is  almost  altogether  deprived  of  the  pleasure  of 
mutual  affection  as  a preliminary  basis  of  marriage,  since,  ac- 
cording to  the  immemorial  standards  of  the  East,  it  is  regarded 
as  both  immoral  and  indecorous.  If  even  her  betrothed 
should  die  before  marriage  she  is  expected  in  China  to  refrain 
from  all  further  alliance,  and  in  case  of  the  death  of  her  hus- 
band the  truly  honorable  thing  for  her  to  do  is  either  to  com- 
mit suicide  or  remain  forever  a widow  out  of  respect  to  his 
memory,  although  in  China  and  Korea  the  singular  concession 
is  made  that  she  may  become  a concubine  and  yet  escape  those 
depths  of  disgrace  into  which  she  would  fall  by  becoming  a 
legitimate  wife.  In  Southern  China  this  duty  of  suicide  has 
been  performed  in  the  presence  of  an  applauding  crowd,  with 
spectacular  ceremonies.  If  the  unfortunate  widow  should 
shrink  from  the  ordeal,  it  sometimes  happens  that  the  surviving 
friends  of  her  husband  will  force  her  to  the  performance  of  the 
rash  act.  In  Korea  substantially  the  same  inexorable  etiquette 
prevails,  although  in  India  the  abominations  of  sati  have  now 
been  legally  prohibited. 

If,  however,  her  husband  lives,  she  must  be  prepared  to 
welcome  other  women  to  share  her  conjugal  rights , as  he  may 
desire ; not,  to  be  sure,  as  legitimate  wives,  but  as  concubines. 
The  same  rule  prevails  in  this  respect  in  China,  Korea,  and 
Japan,  while  in  India  and  throughout  the  Mohammedan  world 
there  may  be  several  legal  wives.  In  Africa  the  universal  rule 
is  as  many  wives  as  a man  can  purchase,  and  the  more  he 
possesses  the  greater  his  social  dignity.  The  position  of  a 
concubine  is  often  one  of  bitter  bondage  not  only  to  the  hus- 
band, but  also  to  the  first  or  legal  wife. 

If  the  hour  of  divorce  comes,  as  it  often  does  at  the  whim 
of  the  husband,  nothing  is  easier  than  the  destruction  of  all 


THE  FAMILY  GROUP 


47 


her  legal  rights  by  a cruel  and  arbitrary  decree.  There  is  one 
universal  rule  in  this  matter  throughout  the  non-Christian 
world.  It  is  as  quickly  and  irreversibly  done  in  Japan  as 
elsewhere.  A single  passionate  declaration  will  accomplish  it 
in  Korea,  in  China,  in  India,  in  every  harem  of  Islam,  and 
wherever  an  African  savage  chooses  to  speak  the  word. 

The  power  of  life  and  death  seems  to  be  almost  universally 
in  the  hands  of  the  husband,  unless  the  authority  of  some  civi- 
lized government  can  call  him  to  account.  “ Either  to  be 
killed  or  to  be  married  is  the  universal  female  fate  ” in  China. 
In  Japan,  even  a father  must  be  obeyed  to  the  extent  of  self- 
immolation,  if  required.  In  times  of  dire  distress  and  famine, 
alike  in  China  and  in  Africa,  wives  and  daughters  may  be 
sold  without  restraint  in  the  open  market.  In  such  strange 
ways  as  these  is  woman  robbed  of  her  birthright  and  deprived 
of  her  heritage. 

4.  There  is  still  a final  group  of  indignities  and  burdens , 
both  physical  and  moral,  which  pertain  to  woman’s  lot  in  her 
non-Christian  environment.  The  mere  list  of  physical  in- 
juries inflicted  upon  her  is  painful.  In  almost  all  Eastern 
lands  she  is  beaten  without  legal  restraint  and  maltreated 
sometimes  with  brutal  cruelty.  She  is  often  neglected  when 
sick,  as  in  many  an  Indian  zenana.  She  is  married  every- 
where at  a tender  age, — in  India  as  early  as  seven  years, — and 
the  marriage  is  often  consummated  at  eleven  or  twelve.  There 
seems  to  be  no  law  in  Mohammedan  lands  restricting  the 
wishes  of  her  rulers  in  this  respect.  Among  the  Kabyles  she 
is  often  a married  child  at  seven  or  eight.  Nor  is  there  any 
constraint  of  custom  as  to  the  age  of  the  bridegroom,  who 
may  be  far  advanced  in  years  and  yet  married  to  a child. 
Amid  the  dismal  barbarism  of  Chinese  Turkestan  even  young 
children  are  sometimes  drugged  and  forcibly  married.  In  one 
of  the  islands  of  the  New  Hebrides  a woman’s  marriage  is  at- 
tended by  the  painful  ordeal  of  having  her  4t  two  upper  front 
teeth  knocked  out  by  the  medicine-man,  aided  by  half  a dozen 
old  women,  who  hold  the  girl’s  arms  and  legs  while  the  cruel 
operation  is  being  performed.”  Among  the  African  tribes  she 
is  always  liable  to  the  charge  of  witchcraft,  exposing  her  to 
torture  or  death,  as  among  the  Matabele  and  the  Buie  and  the 
tribes  of  the  East  Equatorial  region.  In  Uganda  a wife  was 
recently  killed  upon  the  supposition  that  she  made  her  hus- 
band sick.  On  some  of  the  South  Pacific  Islands,  as  in 


48  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON- CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


Aneityum  and  Efate,  she  is  liable  to  be  buried  alive  in  the 
same  grave  with  her  husband  or  sacrificed  in  his  honor  by 
methods  of  extraordinary  cruelty.  Among  all  savage  and 
ignorant  races  she  is  likely  to  be  the  victim  of  brutal  quackery 
and  barbarous  surgical  torture  in  her  times  of  peril  and  dis- 
tress. When  widowhood  becomes  her  lot  she  is  everywhere 
the  victim  of  suspicion  and  often  of  cruel  neglect.  Not  in- 
frequently her  unprotected  condition  exposes  her  to  violence. 
In  China  even  the  bright  days  of  her  childhood  are  shadowed 
by  the  lingering  torture  of  bound,  or  rather  crushed,  feet,  in 
accordance  with  that  abominable  custom.  If  afterward  in 
maturer  life  she  is  obliged  to  work,  the  burdens  of  her  toil  are 
immensely  enhanced  by  the  physical  disability  of  her  maimed 
person. 

The  rough-and-tumble  toil  of  life  in  mountain  and  field  and 
garden  seems  to  be  her  lot  everywhere  in  heathen  lands.  Her 
daily  lesson  is  drudgery,  and  throughout  the  East  and  in 
Africa  every  form  of  hard  work  is  her  appointed  lot.  She  is 
“ a hewer  of  wood  and  a carrier  of  water.  ” In  the  fields  and 
vineyards  and  olive  orchards,  on  the  tea  plantations  and  at  the 
wine-presses,  carrying  heavy  loads  upon  her  back  and  heavy 
jars  upon  her  head,  sometimes  yoked  to  plows,  usually  walking 
while  men  ride,  frequently  with  her  babe  strapped  on  her  back 
— she  goes  through  the  weary  round  of  her  daily  task.  The 
filthy  and  loathsome  service  of  fertilizing  the  soil  and  of  pre- 
paring the  fuel,  made  from  offal,  is  always  her  menial  task. 
The  situation  is  well  illustrated  by  the  story  of  a native  African 
who  ordered  his  wife  to  carry  him  on  her  shoulders  over  a 
deep  and  perilous  ford  of  a river.  She  obeyed  his  command 
successfully.  The  husband,  on  being  remonstrated  with  by  a 
white  man,  asked  in  astonishment,  “ Then  whose  wife  should 
carry  me  over  if  my  own  does  not?”  Thus,  while  it  is  true 
that  there  are  many  industries  in  which  women  can  and  do 
happily  engage,  yet  their  lot,  as  a rule,  is  to  be  the  slave  and 
drudge  of  men  who  spend  their  time  in  idleness  or  sport,  with 
no  effort  to  lighten  the  burdens  of  life  falling  so  heavily  upon 
the  women. 

Her  indignities  and  burdens  are  not,  however,  physical 
alone.  There  are  outrages  upon  her  virtue  inflicted  by  lust 
and  greed.  The  Laws  of  Manu  give  the  old  Indian  estimate 
of  woman.  She  is  regarded  with  intense  distrust  and  counted 
£S  simply  a malevolent  snare  to  men.  If  a widow  she  is  ever 


THE  FAMILY  GROUP 


49 


the  victim  of  malicious  gossip.  “ Scandals  cluster  around  a 
widow’s  door,”  is  a Chinese  proverb.  “ No  daughter’s  virtue 
can  be  praised  until  she  is  dead,”  is  an  Indian  proverb.  “ She 
is  married  to  the  gods”  in  India,  which  means  that  she  is 
married  to  no  one,  although  the  slave  of  all.  She  is  set  apart 
and  trained  for  the  indecencies  of  the  nautch  while  still  a 
child.  If  there  is  any  difficulty  attending  her  marriage,  so 
inexorable  is  the  law  that  no  one  must  remain  unmarried  that 
she  is  given  perhaps  as  the  fortieth  or  fiftieth  wife  to  some  old 
man  among  the  Brahmans  whose  special  business  it  is  to  marry 
girls  for  a consideration,  so  that  if  they  fail  to  find  a husband 
in  any  other  way  this  resource  is  still  open.  Then,  again,  ac- 
cording to  the  savage  etiquette  of  African  hospitality,  they 
must  serve  as  occasion  may  demand  in  the  capacity  of  tem- 
porary wives  to  guests. 

5.  As  might  be  expected,  the  natural  result  of  woman's 
environment  and  experience  where  Christianity  is  unknown  is 
seen  in  her  dwarfed  intellectual  capacity  and  her  moral  and 
physical  degradation.  Her  service  to  society  has  in  it  neces- 
sarily little  that  is  helpful  or  elevating.  Among  savage  races 
even  the  instincts  of  her  humanity  seem  to  have  given  place  to 
a grovelling  and  loathsome  animalism . In  the  higher  walks 
of  heathenism  she  seems  doomed  to  live  in  an  atmosphere  of 
suspicion,  ignorance,  and  superstition.  The  Hindu  zenana 
and  the  Moslem  harem  are,  as  a rule,  the  haunts  of  frivolous 
inanity,  fleshly  vulgarity,  and  intriguing  jealousy.  She  knows 
little  of  the  true  ideal  of  home,  and  appreciates  but  feebly  the 
dignity  and  responsibility  of  motherhood.  False  conceptions 
of  duty,  virtue,  and  responsibility  govern  her  life ; society  is 
thus  robbed  of  the  helpful  influence,  the  brightness,  the  fra- 
grance, and  the  charm  of  her  pure  companionship,  and 
the  world  is  enfeebled,  darkened,  and  saddened  by  its  ab- 
sence. 

Mr.  Rudyard  Kipling , in  one  of  his  stories  of  Indian  life, 
gives  the  following  trenchant  verdict  as  to  the  real  secret  of 
India’s  degradation.  He  says  by  the  mouth  of  one  of  his 
characters:  “What’s  the  matter  with  this  country  is  not  in 
the  least  political,  but  an  all-round  entanglement  of  physical, 
social,  and  moral  evils  and  corruptions,  all,  more  or  less,  due 
to  the  unnatural  treatment  of  women.  You  can’t  gather  figs 
from  thistles,  and  so  long  as  the  system  of  infant  marriage, 
the  prohibition  of  the  remarriage  of  widows,  the  lifelong  im- 


50  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON- CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


prisonment  of  wives  in  a worse  than  penal  confinement,  and 
the  withholding  from  them  of  any  kind  of  education  or  treat- 
ment as  rational  beings  continues,  the  country  cannot  advance 
a step.  Half  of  it  is  morally  dead,  and  worse  than  dead,  and 
that  is  just  the  half  from  which  we  have  a right  to  look  for 
the  best  impulses.  It  is  right  here  where  the  trouble  is,  and 
not  in  any  political  considerations  whatsoever.  The  founda- 
tions of  their  life  are  rotten — utterly  rotten — and  beastly  rot- 
ten. The  men  talk  of  their  rights  and  privileges.  I have 
seen  the  women  that  bear  these  very  men,  and  again — may 
God  forgive  the  men  I n 

6.  It  has  been  said,  and  no  doubt  truthfully,  that,  in  spite 
of  all  her  disabilities,  there  is  much  of  happiness  as  well  as  of 
dignity  and  influence  in  woman' s lot  in  Eastern  lands.  This 
is  certainly  the  case  in  Japan,  where  there  are  many  bright 
modifications  of  the  dark  picture  which  has  been  presented, 
and  where  woman  is  naturally  winsome  and  gentle,  and,  accord- 
ing to  the  standards  of  her  country,  refined  and  modest,  with 
a degree  of  neatness,  diligence,  devotion,  self-sacrifice,  and 
affectionate  concern  for  those  she  loves  which  places  her  on 
perhaps  the  highest  plane  of  womanly  excellence  outside  of 
the  home  life  of  Christendom.  We  must  bear  in  mind  in  this 
connection  that  there  is  no  zenana  system  in  Japan,  and  very 
little  physical  ill-treatment  of  women.  They  are  looked  upon 
rather  as  babies  and  toys. 

It  is  not  unusual  also  in  China,  as  well  as  in  Japan,  in 
Korea,  and  even  in  India,  for  women  to  win  their  way  in  some 
instances  to  a position  of  dignity,  influence,  and  power, 
which  secures  the  respect  and  admiration  of  all;  yet  these 
cases  are  confessedly  exceptional,  and  they  are  especially 
creditable  and  honorable  to  woman  herself  in  that  she  rises 
above  her  limitations  and  discouragements,  and  exhibits  such 
characteristic  cheerfulness,  contentment,  and  patient  docility 
in  such  untoward  surroundings.  The  credit  of  this  is  due  to 
her,  and  not  to  her  environments,  and  shows  her  to  be  a tact- 
ful and  resourceful  conqueror  of  circumstances.  Mere  happi- 
ness, moreover,  is  not  a sign  that  all  is  well.  Slaves  may  be 
happy  in  their  slavery,  the  ignorant  may  be  contented  in  their 
degradation,  the  oppressed  may  have  such  a hopeless  and  nar- 
row view  of  life  that  they  make  the  best  of  their  condition, 
and  move  blindly  and  carelessly  on  in  the  path  of  destiny ; but 
this  does  not  make  their  degradation  the  less  real ; it  only  re- 


THE  FAMILY  GROUP 


51 


veals  the  capacity  of  endurance,  of  cheerful  submission,  and 
patient  contentment,  which  abides  in  humanity. 

Polygamy  and  Concubinage. — Incidental  mention  has 
already  been  made  of  these  subjects,  but  they  can  hardly  be 
passed  over  without  some  more  explicit  and  detailed  reference 
to  the  facts  concerning  them. 

i.  The  unique  teachings  of  Christianity  concerning  mar- 
riage form  one  of  the  most  unmistakable  evidences  of  the  hal- 
lowed origin  of  the  Christian  code.  It  is  in  conflict  with  the 
immemorial  customs  of  human  history,  stamping  with  instant 
and  uncompromising  disapproval  the  ordinary  ways  of  men  as 
revealed  in  the  conventional  non-Christian  attitude  of  society 
through  all  time.  The  wisdom  of  Christ  seems  to  have  led 
Him  to  depart  from  His  usual  custom,  and  to  legislate  in  de- 
tail as  to  the  invariable  Christian  rule  of  morality  in  the  case 
of  marriage.  He  realized  that  in  this  matter  not  only  prin- 
ciple but  precept  must  be  explicit  and  final  if  the  world  was  to 
be  guided  aright. 

The  necessity  for  definite  directions  on  the  part  of  the 
Founder  of  Christianity  becomes  all  the  more  manifest  when 
we  note  the  devices  that  have  been  popular  both  in  ancient 
and  modern  society,  except  where  the  divine  code  has  ruled, 
to  give  a large  scope  to  sensual  instincts,  while  at  the  same 
time  avoiding  the  recognized  scandal  of  universal  lewdness. 
The  differ e7it  forms  of  marriage  recognized  by  Roman  law, 
especially  that  of  usus,  gave  wide  vent  to  laxity,  while  even  to 
these  was  added,  in  the  Augustan  age,  the  omnium  gatherum 
of  concubinage. 

In  the  non- Christian  world  of  to-day  polygamy  and  con- 
cubinage, in  connection  with  easy  divorce,  are  still  the  recog- 
nized expedients  for  giving  an  official  sanction  to  the  wanton 
range  of  passion  without  the  sacrifice  of  social  caste.  The  con- 
venient fiction  of  legality  and  the  powerful  password  of  cus- 
tom lift  the  disgrace  and  save  the  pride  of  the  Eastern  world. 
In  the  East,  as  in  the  West,  there  is  a ready  condemnation 
and  denunciation,  in  theory  at  least,  if  not  always  in  practice, 
of  the  vice  of  prostitution.  Nowhere  will  we  find  it  more 
vigorously  and  scornfully  berated  than  among  Moslems,  Hin- 
dus, and  other  Eastern  nationalities.  A Moslem  will  defend 
his  piety  and  moral  standing  as  passionately  as  he  guards  the 
honor  of  his  hidden  retinue  of  the  harem,  and  will  repudiate 
with  indignation  any  hint  of  irregularity  or  license  in  his 


U 


Of 


52  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


habits  of  life.  He  insists,  of  course,  that  he  is  not  holden  to 
Christian  standards  and  cannot  be  judged  by  them,  his  own 
moral  code  being  the  only  one  that  he  acknowledges.  Thus 
we  will  find  that  the  entire  non-Christian  world  is  prepared  to 
defend  stoutly  the  traditional  moral  environment  of  marriage, 
including  polygamy,  concubinage,  and  divorce  at  will,  as 
wisely  and  happily  ordered  so  as  to  combine  a maximum  of 
privilege  with  a minimum  of  scandal.  This  elastic  legalization 
of  compromising  relations  gives,  in  the  eyes  of  the  Oriental,  a 
sufficient  respectability  to  what  would  otherwise  be  pronounced 
illicit  and  scandalous. 

2.  Strickly  speaking,  therefore,  according  to  the  recog- 
nized social  code,  there  is  no  polygamy  in  Japan , Korea , or 
China , and  comparatively  little  even  in  India.  The  rule  is 
that  there  is  only  one  bona  fide  legal  wife  of  the  first  rank,  and 
she  rides  but  once  in  her  lifetime  in  the  bridal  chair.  To  be 
sure,  there  are  secondary  wives  and  concubines,  but  this  does  not 
interfere  with  the  monogamous  supremacy  and  dignity  of  the 
first  or  chief  wife,  to  whom  the  others  often  bear  the  relation 
of  servants  and  underlings.  In  the  imperial  palaces,  how- 
ever, there  are  ranks  upon  ranks,  and  among  the  madarins 
and  the  more  wealthy  classes  of  Japan,  Korea,  and  China 
there  is  an  indulgence  in  this  domestic  luxury  proportionate 
to  position  and  ability.  While  this  is  all  true,  it  must  be  said, 
however,  that,  except  among  the  higher  classes  in  these  coun- 
tries, the  polygamous  household  is  the  exception.  The  middle 
and  lower  classes,  presumably  rather  under  the  stress  of  cir- 
cumstances, usually  observe  the  rule  of  monogamy.  In  Siam 
and  LaoSy  also,  polygamy  is  confined  to  a few,  while  in 
Burma  it  prevails  to  a very  moderate  extent. 

In  India  the  rule  among  the  Hindus  in  all  ordinary  castes 
is  one  wife,  with  the  usual  margin  for  concubines.  In  case, 
however,  the  first  wife  after  seven  years  fails  to  bear  a son, 
another  wife  is  sure  to  be  taken.  There  is  one  conspicuous 
exception  to  this  general  observation  of  monogamy,  and  this 
is  among  the  Kulin  Brahmans,  whose  bewildering  code  of 
polygamy  without  bounds  or  restraints  is  too  complicated  to 
deal  with  here.  These  much-married  Brahmans,  now  found 
mostly  in  Bengal,  seem  to  be  able  in  view  of  their  caste  dis- 
tinction to  sell  themselves  as  husbands  to  innumerable  wives, 
whose  friends  will  gladly  pay  a good  round  sum  for  the  privi- 
lege of  having  daughters  married  in  such  an  exalted  connec- 


THE  FAMILY  GROUP 


53 


tion.  In  India,  as  elsewhere,  rajahs  and  princes  are,  as  usual, 
unrestrained  polygamists,  while  the  lower  classes  are,  as  a 
rule,  monogamists.  The  singular  custom  of  polyandry  is 
rarely  met  with.  It  exists,  however,  among  the  peasantry  of 
Thibet,  among  some  of  the  Nilgiri  Hill  tribes  of  South  India, 
and  somewhat  also  in  Ceylon. 

The  well-known  rule  of  the  Koran  limits  the  Mohammedan 
to  four  legitimate  wives  at  any  one  time,  with  a large  license 
as  to  concubines  and  slaves.  The  facility  of  divorce,  how- 
ever, is  always  a ready  expedient  to  make  a convenient 
vacancy,  so  that  the  limit  need  not  be  exceeded,  and  the  let- 
ter of  the  law  observed.  The  Turkish  harem  and  the  Persian 
andarun  are  one  and  the  same,  and  exhibit  substantially  the 
same  phases  of  life.  In  Persia,  moreover,  an  audaciously 
flagrant  device  of  a temporary  marriage  seems  to  be  in  use  to 
give  a fictitious  standing  to  a laxity  wholly  vicious  and  deplor- 
able. This  so-called  marriage  may  be  for  a day  or  for  years. 
At  certain  seasons  of  the  year,  when  cultivators  of  the  soil  re- 
quire special  help,  in  accordance  with  this  custom  they  adopt 
the  expedient  of  marrying  with  a temporary  contract  as  many 
women  as  they  require.  In  the  spring  of  the  year  the  rice- 
planters  of  Ghilan  and  Mazanderan  will  thus  secure  a full  con- 
tingent of  cultivators  of  their  fields,  and  when  the  autumn 
harvesting  is  over,  by  a process  of  wholesale  divorce  the  con- 
tract comes  to  an  end. 

The  savage  races  brush  aside  all  these  fine  distinctions  of 
moral  finesse  so  popular  among  the  more  advanced  Orientals, 
and  recognize  no  legal  limitations  whatever  to  their  polyga- 
mous practices.  Wives  are  a badge  of  social  distinction,  and 
give  a princely  eclat  to  the  household.  Throughout  the  whole 
African  Continent  and  in  the  island  homes  of  paganism  the 
highest  ambition,  next  to  distinction  in  war,  seems  to  be  un- 
limited ownership  of  wives. 

Adultery  and  Divorce. — i.  Apparent  absence  of  these 
acts . According  to  the  social  and  legal  standards  of  non- 
Christian  lands,  using  the  term  in  its  strict  technical  sense, 
there  is  less  adultery  than  one  would  expect.  So  far  as  the 
wife  is  concerned,  she  is  guarded  with  extraordinary  care,  and 
her  punishment  in  case  of  a lapse  is  severe  and  merciless.  In 
theory  it  is  usually  death  either  by  strangling  or  lapidation, 
but  this  extreme  penalty  is  in  most  cases  allowed  to  lapse  in 
practice.  So  far  as  the  man  is  concerned,  the  liberty  which 


54  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON- CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


he  claims  to  take  to  himself  under  legal  forms  secondary  wives 
and  concubines,  and  the  right  which  he  exercises  of  swift  and 
informal  divorce,  put  adultery  in  its  technical  sense  outside  the 
usual  range  of  his  indulgence.  He  finds  such  large  license 
within  the  limits  of  custom  and  safety  that  an  adulterous  con- 
nection is  not  sought  for,  nor  is  it,  as  a rule,  very  practicable. 
Judged,  however,  by  Christian  standards,  half  the  flimsy 
marital  relations  of  the  Asiatic  and  African  nations  are 
adulterous. 

2.  Divorce  is  everywhere  easily  accomplished  with  little 
formality  and  upon  the  most  trivial  pretexts.  Almost  the  only 
restraint  is  the  fear  of  scandal  or  of  personally  offending  the 
relatives  of  the  wife.  It  is  practically  at  the  will  of  the  hus- 
band. It  is  his  prerogative,  not  the  wife’s.  It  is  hardly  pos- 
sible, nor  is  it  usually  conceded  even  in  theory  in  non- Chris- 
tian law , that  a woman  can  either  divorce  or  secure  a divorce 
from  her  husband,  although  a separation  by  mutual  consent 
can  be  everywhere  resorted  to  without  fear  of  legal  conse- 
quences. A power  so  arbitrary  and  despotic  on  the  part  of 
the  husband  is,  as  might  be  expected,  a facile  expedient  for 
wrecking  the  marriage  relation.  It  is  the  ready  instrument  of 
wanton  desire,  and  at  the  same  time  introduces  heartless  un- 
certainty and  gross  injustice  into  the  lot  of  woman.  She  is 
the  passive  victim,  and  has  no  redress  for  the  wrong  done  her. 

In  China  the  husband’s  power  of  divorce  seems  to  be  un- 
limited so  far  as  his  secondary  wives  are  concerned.  In  the 
case  of  the  first  or  chief  wife,  however,  he  must  run  the  gant- 
let of  possible  complications  arising  from  opposition  on  the 
part  of  her  family  friends.  Still  further  embarrassments  arise 
in  case  the  wife’s  parents  have  died  since  her  marriage,  or  if 
she  has  served  the  husband’s  parents  until  their  death,  or  if 
her  husband  has  grown  rich  since  her  marriage.  Theoretically 
the  husband  is  free  to  divorce  for  any  one  of  the  “seven  justi- 
fying causes, ” namely,  “ barrenness,  lewdness,  jealousy, 
talkativeness,  thievery,  disobedience  to  her  husband’s  parents, 
and  loathsome  disease.* 9 This  would  seem  to  open  the  door 
to  the  unrestricted  exercise  of  the  right.  In  reality,  however, 
public  opinion  and  the  power  of  precedent  and  custom  exert 
considerable  influence  in  restraining  intemperate  impulses  on 
the  part  of  the  husband. 

In  Japan  the  list  of  justifying  causes  is  substantially  identi- 
cal with  those  mentioned  above,  and  the  husband  is  practically 


THE  FAMILY  GROUP 


55 


under  some  constraint  for  the  same  reasons  that  hold  in  China, 
especially  the  possibility  of  offending  the  wife’s  family  in  case 
she  is  from  the  higher  ranks  of  society.  Among  the  lower 
classes  of  Japan,  however,  there  is  much  less  restraint,  and 
divorce  is  frequently  resorted  to.  In  the  five  years  from  1885 
to  1889,  inclusive,  there  was  a total  of  1,579,648  marriages  in 
the  Empire  of  Japan,  and  a total  of  559,032  divorces — or  an 
average  of  111,806  divorces  annually,  or  one  divorce  to  a frac- 
tion (2.88)  less  than  every  three  marriages.  In  1891  the 
marriages  were  325,651,  and  the  divorces  112,411,  substan- 
tially the  same  proportion.  Comparing  these  statistics  with 
those  of  France  for  the  same  years,  we  find  that  from  1885  to 
1889,  inclusive,  there  were  29,148  divorces,  or  an  average  of 
5,829  annually,  while  the  proportion  of  divorces  to  marriages 
was,  in  1885,  14  for  1,000,  which  had  increased,  however, 
so  that  it  amounted  to  24  for  1,000  in  1891.  In  the  United 
States  there  were  slightly  over  40,000  divorces  granted  in 
1894.  Recent  legislation  in  Japan  has  modified  somewhat  the 
legal  features  of  divorce,  so  that  at  the  present  moment  the 
whole  subject  is  under  the  cognizance  of  law  in  a way  which 
was  unknown  a few  years  ago.  It  has  become  possible  now 
for  a wife  to  legally  sue  for  a divorce.  The  immemorial  rule, 
however,  has  been  that  a wife  must  give  her  husband  full  lib- 
erty to  do  as  he  will  and  should  not  even  be  jealous  if  he 
sought  other  society. 

In  India  divorce  does  not  seem  to  be  prevalent,  except 
among  Moslems.  The  Islamic  code  of  divorce  gives  more 
license  than  is  usual  among  Oriental  nations.  It  is  almost  lit- 
erally without  restraint,  except  that  the  husband  is  required  to 
pay  the  divorced  wife’s  dowry.  The  absolute  secrecy  which 
enshrouds  the  Mohammedan  harem  covers  many  dark  and 
cruel  wrongs.  According  to  Moslem  tradition  and  custom, 
the  Mohammedan  husband  can  exercise  absolute  and  irrespon- 
sible power  within  the  precincts  of  his  harem.  Even  the  po- 
lice are  prohibited  from  entering  on  any  pretext  whatever. 
He  can  cast  out  his  wife  simply  by  the  use  of  a familiar 
spoken  formula,  brief  and  peremptory,  and  she  has  no  redress. 

In  Turkey  divorce  is  often  resorted  to  among  Moslems,  and, 
except  that  certain  legal  formalities  are  required  among  the 
upper  classes,  it  is  a commonplace  of  domestic  life.  No  dis- 
grace attends  it,  nor  is  it  any  barrier  to  subsequent  alliances. 
Even  girls  not  yet  twenty  years  of  age  may  have  been  divorced 


56  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


and  remarried  a dozen  times.  This  is  virtually  prostitution 
under  guise  of  domestic  relations,  and  the  final  lot  of  the 
victim  is  sooner  or  later  to  become  a social  outcast. 

In  India  an  important  aspect  of  this  whole  question  is  the 
proper  regulation,  by  legal  enactments,  of  the  undoubted 
right  of  divorce  where  Christian  converts  are  unjustly  bound 
by  non-Christian  alliances.  According  to  Mohammedan  law 
in  India,  conversion  to  Christianity  on  the  part  of  either  hus- 
band or  wife  dissolves  the  marriage  tie,  and  the  party  remain- 
ing a Moslem  is  free  to  contract  another  alliance.  Legislation 
is  needed  which  will  secure  to  native  Christian  converts  under 
these  circumstances  a legal  divorce  which  will  free  them  from 
bondage.  In  the  case  also  of  child  marriage,  which  is  re- 
garded by  present  British  law  as  binding,  although  it  may 
have  been  contracted  in  infancy  and  remains  still  unconsum- 
mated, legislative  reform  is  needed  which  will  allow  it  to  be 
regarded  in  the  light  simply  of  betrothal. 

Child  Marriage  and  Widowhood. — i.  Child  marriage 
is  in  defiance  of  a law  of  nature  at  once  beneficent  and  su- 
preme. Its  evils  are  multiform  and  deplorable.  It  is  physic- 
ally injurious,  morally  deleterious,  mentally  weakening,  de- 
structive of  family  dignity,  productive  of  enfeebled  offspring, 
increases  the  probability  of  early  widowhood,  provokes  the 
curse  of  poverty,  and  tends  to  rapid  over-population.  The 
testimony  of  native  Indians  of  education  and  independent 
judgment  (especially  medical  men)  is  clear  and  emphatic  as 
to  its  sad  and  dangerous  tendencies.  The  population  of  India 
to-day  is  largely  the  children  of  children,  and,  as  marriage  is 
contracted  with  little  or  no  regard  to  the  ability  of  the  hus- 
band to  support  a family,  this  is  one  secret  of  the  terrible  and 
grinding  poverty  of  the  country.  National  vigor  in  many  sec- 
tions of  the  great  peninsula  has  suffered  a notable  decline, 
owing  to  the  constant  stream  of  infant  life  born  of  immaturity, 
and  called  to  struggle  with  insanitary  conditions  and  blighting 
disease. 

2.  Child  marriage  in  its  worst  forms  seems  to  be  associated 
with  the  higher  castes,  among  whom  also  the  restrictions  of  inter- 
marriage with  other  castes  are  inexorable,  and  involve  a nar- 
rowing of  the  marriage  relation  within  a too  limited  circle. 
The  custom  of  infant  marriage  is  not  equally  prevalent 
throughout  India,  and  facts  which  may  be  true  of  one  sec- 
tion of  the  country  may  not  apply  to  others ; yet  the  practice 


THE  FAMILY  GROUP 


57 


is  sufficiently  prevalent  to  make  it  a gigantic  evil  of  Indian 
society  and  characteristic  of  the  country.  The  census  of  i8gi 
reports  17,928,640  girls  in  India  between  the  ages  of  five  and 
nine.  Of  this  number  2,201,404  were  already  married  and 
64,040  were  widows.  The  report  further  shows  that  there 
were  12,168,592  girls  between  the  ages  of  ten  and  fourteen, 
and  of  this  number  6,016,759  were  carried  and  174,532 
were  widows.  In  the  province  of  Mysore  the  number  of  girls 
married  under  nine  years  of  age  in  the  year  1881  was  12,000, 
while  in  1891  it  was  18,000,  showing  an  increase  of  50  per 
cent.  In  1891  out  of  971,500  married  women  11,157  had 
been  married  at  or  before  the  age  of  four  years,  and  180,997 
between  the  ages  of  five  and  nine,  showing  that  one  out  of 
every  five  of  the  wives  was  married  under  the  age  of  nine. 
There  were  in  the  province  at  the  time  23,000  child  widows 
below  the  age  of  fourteen.  The  total  of  married  children  in 
all  India  under  five  years  of  age  is  as  follows:  boys,  103,000; 
girls,  258,000.  The  total  of  widowed  children  under  five 
years  of  age  is,  boys,  7,000,  and  girls,  14,000. 

3.  The  average  age  of  marriage  for  girls  among  the  Brah- 
mans is  between  six  and  seven.  Some  are  married  before 
seven  years  of  age.  Nearly  all  are  married  before  ten.  Even 
babes  are  often  married  as  soon  as  they  are  born.  Twelve 
seems  to  be  the  limit  of  age  beyond  which  it  is  a disgrace  for 
the  girl  not  to  be  married  and  a sin  for  the  father  not  to  have 
found  her  a husband. 

4.  The  discussions  of  the  Indian  sacred  books  as  to  the 
marriageable  age  of  girls  are  not  fit  for  quotation.  They  are 
part  of  the  prurient  vulgarity  of  Hinduism  in  its  treatment  of 
woman.  The  reasons  usually  assigned  for  infant  marriage  are 
that  it  is  essential  to  the  peace  of  a man’s  soul  after  death  that 
he  should  have  children  who  can  duly  perform  his  funeral 
rites,  and  that  early  marriages  increase  the  probability  of  off- 
spring, and  on  this  account  are  to  be  commended.  It  is  also 
argued  that  the  custom  tends  to  morality,  and  that  it  is  justi- 
fied in  India  for  physical  reasons. 

The  arguments  that  early  marriages  are  required  in  the  in- 
terests of  morality  and  are  justified  by  the  early  development 
of  Indian  girls  are  not  sustained  by  facts.  On  the  contrary , 
the  custom  is  a dangerous  stimulus  to  immorality,  and  quickens 
to  an  unnatural  precocity  the  relation  of  the  sexes.  It  is, 
moreover,  denied  by  competent  authority  that  climatic  con- 


58  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 

ditions  in  India  are  to  the  extent  claimed  responsible  for  early 
maturity.  The  pernicious  customs  of  the  country  as  regards 
marriage  have  unbalanced  nature  and  prematurely  forced  the 
physical  and  mental  growth  of  Indian  children  of  both  sexes. 

5.  The  physical  sufferings  induced  by  early  marriage  form 
a shocking  indictment  against  a cruel  custom.  In  a recent 
memorial , signed  by  fifty-five  lady  doctors,  petitioning  the 
Indian  Government  on  the  subject  of  child  marriage,  and  for- 
warded by  Mrs.  Dr.  Mansell  of  Lucknow  to  the  Governor- 
General,  a strong  appeal  based  upon  medical  experience  was 
presented,  urging  that  fourteen  years  be  the  minimum  age  for 
the  consummation  of  marriage.  The  appeal  is  sustained  by 
most  pitiful  facts,  drawn  from  medical  experience,  as  to  the 
physical  cruelties  attending  the  prevalent  custom  of  infant 
marriage. 

6.  According  to  what  is  known  as  the  “ Native  Marriage 
Act  ” of  1872,  forced  marriages  are  prohibited  under  the  age 
of  eighteen  for  men  and  fourteen  for  women,  while  the  written 
consent  of  parents  or  guardians  is  required  when  either  party 
is  under  twenty-one.  This  at  first  sight  seems  to  be  valuable 
legislation,  but,  as  the  law  remains  a dead  letter  unless  its 
protection  is  sought,  it  practically  has  little  effect  as  a remedy 
for  existing  evils,  since  neither  parents  nor  children  appear 
inclined,  except  very  rarely,  to  avail  themselves  of  its  provi- 
sions. 

According  to  the  penal  code  of  India,  the  minimum  age  for 
the  consummation  of  marriage,  so  far  as  Hindus  are  concerned, 
was  until  quite  recently  ten  years.  It  has  now  been  raised  to 
twelve  by  an  act  which  became  law  on  March  19,  1891.  The 
significance  of  this  is  that  it  is  regarded  as  a crime  to  consum- 
mate the  marriage  earlier  than  twelve  years  of  age,  but,  owing 
to  the  supreme  difficulty  of  prosecution  and  the  many  em- 
barrassments attending  it,  the  infraction  of  the  law  is  rarely 
brought  to  book,  and  in  the  great  majority  of  instances  it  is 
practically  inoperative.  As  the  limitation  of  ten  years  was 
often  disregarded,  so  in  all  likelihood  that  of  twelve  years  will 
be  observed  even  to  a less  extent.  The  Parsees  have  secured 
for  themselves  by  special  legislation  in  their  interest  the  age  of 
fourteen,  as  also  have  the  Brahmos  (members  of  reform  socie- 
ties, like  the  Brahmo-Somaj  and  others)  at  their  own  request. 
The  Kulin  Brahmans,  however,  seem  to  break  all  rules  with 
their  barbarous  customs.  It  is  not  unusual  for  individual 


THE  FAMILY  GROUP 


59 


members  of  this  marrying  syndicate  to  have  from  fifty  to 
seventy-five  girl  wives  scattered  about  the  country,  so  that 
when  the  much-married  husband  dies  it  brings  the  social 
miseries  and  sorrows  of  widowhood  upon  a large  circle  of 
helpless  victims. 

7.  There  is  at  the  present  time  much  agitation  for  new 
Indian  legislation  upon  this  burning  subject.  Another  point 
upon  which  reform  legislation  is  needed  is  to  secure  the  non- 
recognition on  the  part  of  British  law  of  the  binding  valid- 
ity of  infant  marriage,  so  customary  in  India.  It  should  be 
regarded  in  the  light  of  a betrothal  until  bona  fide  marriage 
relations  are  established. 

8.  We  have  referred  as  yet  only  to  India,  but  the  custom 
of  early  marriages  is  known  also  in  Korea,  China,  Chinese 
Turkestan,  Persia,  Turkey,  along  the  northern  coast  of  Africa, 
and  largely  throughout  the  Continent,  and  it  produces  every- 
where the  same  evil  results. 

9.  Child  widowhood  is  a natural  result  of  child  marriage, 
and  the  evil  is  greatly  enhanced  by  the  uncompromising  pro- 
hibition of  remarriage  in  India.  The  singular  prohibition  is 
one  of  the  fruits  of  the  traditional  subjection  of  woman.  Ac- 
cording to  the  social  and  religious  standards  of  India,  she  is 
regarded  as  still  bound  to  do  reverence  even  to  a dead  hus- 
band, and  his  dominion  is  considered  as  lasting  during  her 
life,  even  though  he  has  ceased  to  live.  This  idea  of  enslave- 
ment was  carried  to  such  an  extreme  that  the  widow  was  until 
recently  bound  to  self-destruction  at  the  death  of  her  husband, 
in  order  that  she  might  continue  to  be  his  wife  and  engage  in 
his  service  in  the  life  beyond. 

10.  The  prohibition  of  remarriage  was  lifted  by  what  is 
known  in  British  Indian  legislation  as  the  “ Widow  Marriage 
Act,”  passed  by  Lord  Canning  in  1856.  The  force  of  this  act 
is  simply  that  it  removes  the  legal  obstacles  to  remarriage  on 
the  part  of  the  widow,  if  it  is  desired,  but  at  the  same  time  it 
requires  her,  in  case  of  remarriage,  to  forfeit  all  property 
which  she  has  inherited  from  her  husband.  This  law  has  been 
modified  by  a special  enactment  in  the  case  of  native  Chris- 
tians and  the  theistic  reformed  sects  of  India,  but  it  is  still  in 
force  so  far  as  the  entire  Hindu  population  is  concerned.  It 
is  in  reality,  however,  a dead  letter,  as  the  Hindus  regard  it 
with  abhorrence,  and  have  not  mitigated  in  the  least  their 
strenuous  opposition  to  the  remarriage  of  a widow.  Thirty 


60  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


years  after  its  enactment  only  about  sixty  remarriages  are 
reported  in  all  India.  It  was  a generation  or  more  in  advance 
of  native  opinion,  which,  however,  at  the  present  time  is  be- 
ginning to  agitate  for  larger  liberty  in  this  matter.  The  law, 
being  simply  permissive  in  its  character,  legalizes  without 
urging  or  facilitating  the  act  of  remarriage.  It  remains  for 
native  public  opinion  to  relax  its  tyrannical  stringency  and 
yield  itself  to  the  urgent  call  for  a more  enlightened  liberty. 
As  the  case  stands  now,  the  loss  of  property  on  the  part  of  the 
widow  is  not  the  only  penalty  attending  her  remarriage;  both 
she  and  her  husband  are  ruled  out  of  caste,  and  must  suffer 
social  ostracism  in  its  most  intense  and  virulent  form. 

n.  The  condition  of  the  Hindu  widow  is,  almost  with- 
out exception,  a lamentable  one.  It  has  been  fully  de- 
scribed in  books  referring  to  the  social  and  religious  state  of 
India.  The  chief  features  which  make  her  fate  a hard  one, 
especially  if  she  is  widowed  in  childhood,  are  that  she  is  im- 
mediately obliged  to  shave  her  head,  is  deprived  forcibly  of 
her  jewels  and  ordinary  clothing,  and  made  to  wear  for  the 
rest  of  her  life  a distinctive  garb,  which  is  a badge  of  humili- 
ation. She  is  allowed  to  eat  only  once  in  the  twenty-four 
hours,  and  every  two  weeks  is  required  to  observe  a strict  fast, 
omitting  even  the  one  meal.  It  has  been  decreed,  however, 
by  the  highest  religious  court  of  Hinduism  that  if,  acting  on 
medical  advice,  the  widow  on  these  fast-days  should  drink  a 
little  water  the  offence  should  be  condoned.  Her  person  is 
forever  held  in  contempt,  and  even  her  touch  may  be  con- 
sidered pollution.  Her  widowhood  is  regarded  as  an  afflic- 
tion brought  upon  her  in  punishment  for  heinous  sin  in  a 
previous  state  of  existence.  If  it  come  upon  her  in  childhood 
she  must  grow  to  years  of  maturity  with  the  painful  conscious- 
ness of  her  isolation  and  unhappy  ostracism  shadowing  the  early 
years  of  her  life.  She  is  forever  an  object  of  suspicion,  and 
is  looked  upon  as  capable  of  all  evil.  She  is  the  victim  of 
special  temptations,  and  is  often  driven  to  a life  of  shame 
through  sheer  self-loathing  and  despair. 

12.  It  should  not  be  understood  that  all  widows  are  in- 
variably treated  with  the  same  degree  of  severity  and  contempt 
throughout  India.  The  treatment  shown  them  varies  in  dif- 
ferent castes,  and  even  in  different  families.  It  may,  of 
course,  be  mitigated  by  the  personal  kindness  and  consider- 
ation of  their  immediate  circle,  and  it  may  be,  on  the  other 


THE  FAMILY  GROUP 


61 


hand,  intensified  by  fanaticism.  In  the  Punjab,  and  es- 
pecially in  Bengal,  the  worst  features  of  the  widow’s  sad  lot 
are  prevalent.  In  other  parts  of  India  she  may  be  treated  with 
far  less  personal  contumely,  but  the  main  features  of  isolation, 
suspicion,  distinctive  dress,  cruel  restrictions,  and  prohibition 
of  remarriage  prevail  everywhere. 

13.  According  to  the  census  of  1881,  there  were  in  India 
at  that  time  20,938,626  widows.  The  census  of  1891  reports 
22,657,429,  but  as  this  report  was  given  with  reference  only 
to  262,300,000  out  of  a total  population  of  287,223,431,  if 
the  same  proportion  holds,  the  total  number  in  all  India  would 
not  be  less  than  25,000,000.  Nearly  every  fifth  woman  in 
India  is  a widow.  This  large  percentage  may  be  traced  di- 
rectly to  the  custom  of  early  marriages  and  the  stringent  pro- 
hibition of  remarriage. 

14.  The  same  shadow  rests  upon  the  widow  in  China  and 
Korea,  although  the  exactions  of  custom  are  by  no  means  so 
inexorable  as  in  India.  If,  however,  she  should  remarry  she 
loses  her  social  position  and  is  regarded  as  guilty  of  an  un- 
natural and  immodest  act. 

15.  In  connection  with  the  subject  of  widowhood  and  its 
enforced  hardships,  mention  may  be  made  of  the  now  hap- 
pily extinct  custoin  of  sati , or  widow-burning.  The  usual 
form  of  the  word  in  English  is  “ suttee,”  but  it  is  more  cor- 
rectly written  sati , from  a root  signifying  “good  ” or  “ pure,” 
the  significance  of  the  word  being  that  self-destruction  on  the 
part  of  the  widow  is  a preeminently  virtuous  act.  The  hor- 
rible custom  was  unknown  among  the  early  Aryans,  nor  is  it 
inculcated  in  the  Vedas.  It  is  supposed  that  the  Hindus 
adopted  it  from  the  Scythian  tribes,  who  were  accustomed  to 
immolate  “ concubine  and  horse  and  slave  on  the  tomb  of  the 
dead  lord.”  Possibly  the  custom  may  have  commended  itself 
to  the  Hindus  as  one  eminently  fitting  and  in  harmony  with 
their  ideas  of  what  is  becoming  in  a widow.  At  all  events,  it 
became  prevalent  to  a fearful  extent,  and  the  relatives  of  the 
unhappy  widow  may  have  been  all  the  more  eager  to  insist 
upon  it  so  that  they  might  obtain  her  inheritance  and  be  al- 
together relieved  of  the  burden  of  supporting  her.  She  was 
assured  that  untold  happiness  would  follow  this  supreme 
sacrifice,  and  even  those  who  aided  in  the  act  of  burning 
would  obtain  for  themselves  extravagant  merit.  In  number- 
less instances  the  unhappy  victim  would  shrink  from  her  ter- 


62  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


rible  fate,  and  would  be  forced  to  it  in  a way  which  made  it  a 
most  abominable  species  of  murder. 

In  the  year  1817  it  was  found  that,  on  an  average,  two 
widows  were  burned  alive  in  Bengal  every  day.  In  some 
cases  death  was  by  burial  while  alive  instead  of  by  burning. 
This  most  awful  crime  was  abolished  by  the  British  Govern- 
ment in  1829  by  the  decisive  action  of  Lord  William  Ben- 
tinck.  The  Hindus  objected  most  vigorously  to  the  regula- 
tion placing  the  practice  of  sati  among  the  crimes  punishable 
by  law.  They  presented  memorials  to  the  Government,  in 
which  they  justified  the  act  of  immolation  as  a sacred  duty 
and  exalted  privilege,  and  claimed  that  the  action  of  the  authori- 
ties was  an  unwarranted  interference  with  the  religious  customs 
of  India.  The  appeal  was  transmitted  to  the  Privy  Council 
in  England,  but  Lord  Bentinck’s  action  in  the  matter  was  sus- 
tained. The  prohibition  applied  only  to  British  territory,  but 
the  Government  has  also  used  its  best  influence  in  restricting 
the  custom  in  Native  States,  and  at  the  present  time,  although 
rare  instances  are  still  reported,  it  has  been  practically  sup- 
pressed everywhere.  The  agitation  for  its  abolition  was  be- 
gun under  missionary  auspices  by  Dr.  Carey  in  1801. 

Defective  Family  Training. — The  delicate  and  respon- 
sible offices  of  parental  training,  although  everywhere  in  the 
non-Christian  world  more  or  less  under  the  guiding  instincts 
of  natural  feeling,  are  yet,  through  ignorance,  passion,  and 
thoughtlessness,  sadly  ineffective  as  a helpful  discipline  to  the 
young.  Family  training  can  rise  no  higher  in  its  temper  and 
wisdom  than  the  family  character.  Its  aspirations  may  be  the 
best,  and  its  aims  the  highest  that  can  be  expected  under  the 
circumstances,  yet  they  are  not  likely  to  transcend  the  family 
environment,  except  as  Christian  teachings  give  an  uplifting 
impulse  to  parental  desires. 

1.  The  sketch  of  Japanese  child  life  given  by  Miss  Bacon, 
in  her  chapter  on  childhood  in  “ Japanese  Girls  and  Women,” 
is  a pleasing  picture,  and,  owing  to  the  kindness  with  which 
children  are  treated,  Japan  has  been  called  a “ paradise  of 
babies.”  So  far  as  gentleness  and  natural  affection  are  con- 
cerned, the  elements  of  happy  family  life  seem  to  be  present 
in  Japan.  The  danger  is  rather  in  the  lack  of  a wise  self-re- 
straint on  the  part  of  parents,  modifying  the  tendency  to  an 
undue  laxity  which  in  the  end  may  work  injury.  The  ab- 
sence of  a high  moral  purpose  and  a deep  sense  of  parental 


THE  FAMILY  GROUP 


63 


responsibility  can  hardly  be  atoned  for  by  mere  fondness. 
Later  on  in  the  life  of  a Japanese  child  comes  the  shadow  of 
parental  absolutism,  which  in  many  instances  is  guilty  of  in- 
flicting grave  wrongs  upon  confiding  and  obedient  children, 
especially  the  daughters. 

2.  In  China  there  is  a somewhat  severe  and  elaborate  ethical 
code  of  training  which,  if  put  into  practice  with  wisdom  and 
kindliness,  is  by  no  means  void  of  good  results.  Its  influence, 
however,  is  largely  neutralized  by  the  force  of  example  and  the 
power  of  the  imitative  instinct  in  the  young.  The  “Nii  Erh 
Ching ; or,  Classic  for  Girls”  has  been  translated  into  English 
by  Professor  Headland,  of  Peking,  and  is  full  of  sage  advice  and 
excellent  counsel.  Moral  maxims  and  conventional  polite- 
ness, however,  may  be  insisted  upon  with  much  carefulness ; 
yet  if  a child’s  mind  “ is  filled  with  ill-natured  gossip,  low 
jests,  filthy  sayings,  and  a thousand  slavish  superstitions  ” the 
result  is  sure  to  be  disastrous.  Even  though  the  letter  of  the 
discipline  may  be  free  from  serious  defect,  yet  the  fact  that  it 
is  ignored  in  thousands  of  families,  and  in  its  place  is  sub- 
stituted the  foolish  and  idolizing  weakness  of  fond  parents, 
interspersed  with  bursts  of  furious  brutality,  quite  transforms 
the  ideal  Chinese  home  into  a school  of  selfishness,  conceit, 
and  disobedience.  The  ordinary  training  of  Chinese  children 
is  characterized  by  grave  moral  lapses,  and  sometimes  by 
shocking  cruelty.  Punishment  is  frequently  brutal  and  even 
criminal.  Parental  care  is  in  many  cases  neglected.  In  fact, 
the  children  are  sometimes  cast  off  and  turned  loose  in  the 
world  under  heartless  conditions  which  insure  either  death, 
slavery,  or  shame.  Child  slavery  is  one  of  the  reproaches  of 
Chinese  society. 

3.  In  India  and  Burma , and,  in  fact,  throughout  all 
Asiatic  countries,  the  utter  neglect  of  family  training  seems  to 
be  the  feature  most  to  be  noted  in  this  connection.  The 
children,  except  those  of  the  higher  classes,  are  left  to  their 
own  devices  to  grow  up  under  the  influence  of  their  tainted 
environment.  Where  the  climate  will  allow  they  are  un- 
clothed, until  natural  modesty  ceases  to  exist,  and  are  usually 
unwashed,  unkempt,  and  covered  with  filth,  flies,  and  vermin. 
In  India  “ there  exists  a superstition  according  to  which  it  is 
unlucky  to  wash  children  until  they  reach  a certain  age.” 
The  “ joint  family  system,”  as  known  in  India,  is  a dangerous 
one  to  family  peace,  and  attended  with  practical  disadvantages 


64  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


which  are  objectionable  from  many  points  of  view.  Its  effect 
upon  children  is  to  concentrate  the  power  of  evil  example  and 
bring  them  into  contact  with  every  aspect  of  domestic  in- 
felicity. A sad  aspect  of  the  matter  is  the  prurient  precocity 
of  children,  who  begin  their  vile  language  with  their  infant 
prattle  and  grow  old  in  pollution  while  yet  young  in  years. 
The  average  Indian  mother  seems  to  be  all  unconscious  of  the 
fact  that  she  has  anything  to  do  in  forming  the  character  of 
her  children. 

4.  In  Mohammedan  lands  the  same  physical  and  moral 
neglect  prevails,  and  the  young  grow  up  under  the  unwhole- 
some culture  of  surrounding  influences.  Parental  petting 
alternates  with  parental  passion  in  the  daily  treatment  of 
children. 

5.  In  Africa  family  life  is  not  very  far  above  the  plane  of 
mere  animalism,  modified,  of  course,  by  human  instincts;  yet 
there  is  really  no  family  training.  Children  run  wild  and 
grow  up  with  untamed  and  grossly  tainted  natures.  The  mis- 
sion school  is  the  best  gift  of  heaven  to  African  children,  and 
under  its  auspices  the  long,  slow  process  of  making  over  those 
wild  natures  has  commenced. 

6.  A word  should  be  said  in  this  connection  concerning 
the  abuse  of  pare7ital  authority  in  Eastern  lands — not  a new  or 
strange  thing  in  heathenism,  as  we  may  read  in  classical 
history.  In  China  it  is  answerable  for  much  brutality  and  for 
the  sale  of  children  into  slavery,  while  in  Japan  it  often  seals 
the  doom  of  a daughter  to  a life  of  misery.  In  all  the  realms 
of  savagery  it  suggests  a dread  possibility  in  the  case  of 
millions  of  little  ones  who  may  at  any  time  become  the 
victims  of  a sudden  whim  or  a loathsome  purpose  on  the  part 
of  those  who  are  the  irresponsible  masters  of  young  lives. 

Infanticide. — 1.  That  the  exposure  of  children  in  such  a 
way  as  to  insure  their  destruction  was  common  in  classical 
heathenism  is  too  well  known  to  require  more  than  a passing 
notice.  It  is  perhaps  a less  familiar  fact  that  this  inhuman 
crime  prevailed  among  the  pagan  barbarians  of  Central  and 
Northern  Europe  as  late  as  the  thirteenth  century. 

2.  The  heathenism  of  to-day,  even  in  the  centres  of  its 
most  advanced  civilization,  is  still  red-handed  with  the  traces 
of  infanticide.  Japan  is  in  pleasing  and  humane  contrast 
with  her  more  barbarous  neighbors,  the  Chinese , as  regards 
this  dark  and  cruel  crime.  That  the  custom,  although  often 


THE  FAMILY  GROUP 


65 


practiced  in  secret,  prevails  in  China  cannot  be  doubted. 
The  united  testimony  of  those  who  have  had  ample  oppor- 
tunities to  know  the  facts  presents  a body  of  evidence  which  is 
irresistibly  strong,  although  the  custom  is  confined  almost  ex- 
clusively to  the  destruction  of  girls,  unless  in  case  of  deformed 
or  weakly  infants.  It  is  more  prevalent  in  Central  and 
Southern  China,  and  is  comparatively  rare  in  the  north.  It  is 
said  that  poverty  and  the  desire  to  be  free  from  the  burden  of 
caring  for  girls  are  the  chief  causes  of  its  prevalence.  The 
spirit  which  seems  to  reign  in  the  hearts  of  Chinese  mothers  is 
illustrated  by  a conversation  which  Miss  Fielde  reports  in  “ A 
Corner  of  Cathay”  (p.  72).  A pagan  Chinese  woman,  dis- 
coursing upon  the  subject  of  daughters,  remarked,  “ A 
daughter  is  a troublesome  and  expensive  thing  anyway.  Not 
only  has  she  to  be  fed,  but  there  is  all  the  trouble  of  binding 
her  feet,  and  of  getting  her  betrothed,  and  of  making  up  her 
wedding  garments ; and  even  after  she  is  married  off  she  must 
have  presents  made  to  her  when  she  has  children.  Really, 
it  is  no  wonder  that  so  many  baby  girls  are  slain  at  their 
birth  ! ” 

While  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  accurate  data  is  recognized 
by  all,  and  also  the  fact  that  statements  which  apply  to  certain 
sections  of  the  vast  empire  are  not  representative  of  the  true 
status  in  other  parts,  yet  the  prevalence  of  infanticide  to  a 
frightful  extent  is  beyond  question.  The  author  of  4 4 Things 
Chinese”  (p.  233)  estimates  on  the  basis  of  special  inquiries 
that  in  the  province  of  Fuhkien  “an  average  of  forty  per 
cent,  of  the  girls  were  thus  murdered.”  Rev.  C.  Hartwell,  in 
a paper  read  at  the  Shanghai  Conference  of  1877  (“  Report,” 
p.  387),  estimates  that  at  Foochow  “from  thirty  to  seventy 
per  cent,  of  the  female  infants  have  been  destroyed.”  If  the 
act  of  destruction  is  not  actually  committed,  another  method 
of  accomplishing  the  result  is  to  leave  the  infant  in  some  ex- 
posed place,  where  it  is  either  destroyed  by  animals  or  starved. 
It  may  be  cast  into  the  living  tomb  of  a baby  tower,  or  placed 
in  a basket  or  shelter  provided  for  the  purpose,  from  whence 
some  one  may  take  it  to  sell  into  slavery  or  to  adopt  if  so 
disposed.  In  the  latter  case  the  motive  may  be  evil  and  the 
infant’s  future  may  be  one  of  hopeless  shame.  Dr.  W.  A.  P. 
Martin,  a lifelong  resident  of  China,  writes  in  The  Chinese 
Recorder , October,  1894,  as  follows:  “Of  the  prevalence  of 

infanticide  in  China  there  is  unhappily  no  room  for  doubt. 


66  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF' THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 

The  question  is  set  at  rest  by  the  testimony  of  the  people 
themselves.  Among  their  moral  tracts  dissuading  from  vice 
and  crime  a conspicuous  place  is  filled  by  a class  called 
‘ Dissuasives  from  Drowning  Daughters.'  Official  proclama- 
tions may  often  be  seen  posted  on  gates  and  walls  forbidding 
the  practice."  Other  veteran  missionaries,  as  Dr.  Talmage,  of 
Amoy,  have  reported  the  results  of  careful  inquiry  and  observa- 
tion to  the  same  effect.  Dr.  Abeel,  whose  diary  is  quoted  in 
the  “Life  of  Talmage  " (p.  69),  and  whose  observation  dates 
back  about  fifty  years  from  the  present  time,  gave  it  as  his 
verdict,  after  repeated  investigation  in  the  vicinity  of  Amoy, 
that  “the  number  destroyed  varies  exceedingly  in  different 
places,  the  extremes  extending  from  seventy  and  eighty  per 
cent,  to  ten  per  cent.,  and  the  average  proportion  destroyed  in 
all  these  places  amounting  to  nearly  four-tenths,  or  exactly 
thirty-nine  per  cent.  In  seventeen  of  these  forty  towns  and 
villages  [visited]  my  informants  declare  that  one-half  or  more 
are  deprived  of  existence  at  birth." 

“When  I reached  here  thirty-two  years  ago,"  writes  Rev. 
J.  Macgowan  (London  Missionary  Society),  of  Amoy,  China, 
“there  was  a pond  in  the  centre  of  the  town  known  as  the 
'Babies'  Pond ' This  was  the  place  where  little  ones  were 
thrown  by  their  mothers.  There  were  always  several  bodies 
of  infants  floating  on  its  green,  slimy  waters,  and  the  passers-by 
looked  on  without  any  surprise."  The  influence  of  Christianity 
in  Amoy  has  banished  this  scene.  “As  the  Church  grew," 
he  writes,  “ the  truth  spread,  and  street  preachers  pointed  to 
this  pond  as  an  evidence  of  the  heartlessness  of  idolatry  that 
tolerated  such  wickedness,  and  the  people  became  ashamed. 
Foundling  Institutions  were  established,  which  are  carried  on 
to-day  and  which  now  have  fully  2,000  children  in  connection 
with  them.  To-day  thousands  of  women  are  alive  who,  but 
for  Christianity,  would  have  been  put  to  death.  The  pond  has 
long  ago  dried  up."  While,  of  course,  no  statement  can  be 
made  which  is  other  than  an  estimate,  yet  it  seems  beyond 
question  that  tens  of  thousands  (we  have  seen  it  named  as 
high  as  200,000)  of  infant  girls  are  annually  sacrificed  in 
China.  The  custom  is  practiced  also  in  Formosa,  as  Dr. 
MacKay  reports  in  “From  Far  Formosa"  (p.  298). 

3.  The  testimony  concerning  the  prevalence  of  infa7iticide 
in  India  before  the  advent  of  British  rule  is  hardly  less  abun- 
dant than  in  China.  It  may  be  drawn  largely  from  Indian 


67 


THE  FAMILY  GROUP 


sources.  In  a volume  on  “Medical  Jurisprudence, ” quoted 
by  Wilkins,  it  is  stated  that  “the  murder  of  female  children, 
whether  by  the  direct  employment  of  homicidal  means  or  by 
the  more  inhuman  and  not  less  certain  measures  of  exposure  to 
privation  and  neglect,  has  for  ages  been  the  chief  and  most 
characteristic  crime  of  six-sevenths  of  the  inhabitants  of 
British  India.”  Syed  A.  M.  Shah  states,  in  an  article  on 
“Hindu  Women  in  India,”  that,  “among  Rajputs,  if  the 
child  were  a girl  the  poor  little  creature  used  often  to  be 
killed  by  her  cruel  parents,  who  looked  upon  her  birth  as  a 
direct  curse  from  heaven.”  In  a lecture  on  “Kathiawar,” 
delivered  by  Mr.  M.  A.  Turkhud  before  the  National  Indian 
Association,  the  lecturer,  in  speaking  of  the  Jadejas,  remarked  : 
“This  tribe  is  noted  for  the  practice  of  female  infanticide. 
Whenever  a child  was  born,  if  it  was  a girl  it  was  immediately 
killed.  How  the  practice  originated  is  not  exactly  known,  but 
it  was  probably  due  to  the  ambition  among  Rajputs  to  marry 
their  daughters  into  families  higher  than  their  own,  and  this 
always  involved  a ruinous  expenditure  in  dowries.  This 
practice  was  not  confined  to  the  Jadejas  alone,  but  it  pre- 
vailed among  the  Sumras  and  Jethavas  also.” 

The  lecturer  quoted,  also,  a paragraph  from  the  writings  of 
Colonel  Watson  upon  the  same  theme.  Referring  to  the 
method  employed  in  the  execution  of  the  crime,  the  words  re- 
ported are  as  follows:  “It  is  not  necessary  to  describe  the 
mode  of  killing  the  unfortunate  children.  There  were  several 
methods.  It  is  not  difficult  to  kill  a newborn  child.  4 What 
labor  is  there  in  crushing  a flower  ?*  said  a Jadeja  chief,  on 
being  asked  what  means  were  employed.  The  crime  was 
formerly  so  universal  that  directly  a female  child  was  born  it 
was  killed  by  the  women  of  the  house,  unless  the  father  had 
given  express  orders  beforehand  that  it  should  be  reared,  and 
such  an  order  was  rarely  given.  The  father  never  saw  the  in- 
fant himself ; he  always  pretended  to  be  unconscious  of  the 
whole  affair,  and  if  any  one  ventured  to  ask  him  . . . the 

answer  was,  ‘ Nothing.*  The  event  was  always  passed  over  in 
silence,  and  even  when  a girl’s  life  was  spared  there  was  no 
rejoicing.”  When  Kathiawar  came  under  British  rule,  the 
Jains,  whose  chief  religious  tenet  is  total  abstinence  from  tak- 
ing all  animal  life,  expressly  stipulated  that  no  cattle  should  be 
killed  for  the  use  of  English  troops ; yet  this  was  in  face  of  the 
fact  that  female  infanticide  had  been  practiced  for  ages  with- 


68  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


out  the  slightest  protest.  The  sacrifice  of  children  in  the  pay- 
ment of  vows  to  Indian  deities  has  been  “ known  for  untold 
generations/'  and  not  until  British  legislation  had  largely 
abolished  the  custom  were  there  any  signs  of  its  cessation. 

The  question  as  to  the  extent  of  infanticide  in  India  at  the 
present  time  is  more  difficult  to  determine,  as  under  the  ban  of 
British  law  it  is  carried  on  more  secretly.  In  fifteen  years, 
however,  there  have  been  officially  reported  12,542  cases, 
and  this  number  represents  only  a small  proportion  of  the  total. 
The  Indian  Social  Reformer  for  August  3,  1895,  contains  the 
following  statement : “ Infanticide  seems  to  be  largely  on  the 
increase  in  the  Madras  Presidency.  Hardly  a week  passes 
without  our  reading  in  the  papers  of  painful  instances  in 
which  newborn  babies  are  either  killed  or  deserted.  The 
‘ Sasilekha  ’ rightly  attributes  this  sad  state  of  affairs  to  the 
peculiarly  rigid  and  stupid  marriage  customs  of  the  country, 
and  exhorts  all  true  patriots  to  do  what  they  can  to  modify 
these  customs."  In  a recent  issue  of  The  Bombay  Gazette  is 
the  statement  that  “ female  infanticide  continues  prevalent  in 
Northern  India,  and  the  subject  comes  under  review  by  the 
Lieutenant-Governor  of  the  Punjab  in  a resolution  on  the 
Sanitary  Commissioner’s  report.  ‘ The  unenviable  notoriety 
enjoyed  by  the  districts  of  Jullundur,  Amritsar,  and  Ludhiana/ 
he  remarks,  ‘ by  reason  of  their  abnormally  high  death-rates  of 
female  infants,  is  again  brought  to  notice.’  ’’  A chapter  on 
infanticide  in  “ AVomen  of  the  Orient’’  gives  some  significant 
statements  from  official  sources  with  reference  to  the  state  of 
affairs  in  India  in  1870,  and  the  author  comes  to  this  conclu- 
sion : “ As  the  result  of  careful  inquiry  while  in  India,  I am 
morally  certain  that,  at  the  very  lowest  estimate  admissible, 
fully  one-third  of  the  girls  born  among  the  natives  of  that 
country  are  still  secretly  murdered.” 

The  British  Government  has  waged  strenuous  warfare  against 
infanticide  in  India,  but,  owing  to  the  extreme  difficulty  of 
discovery  and  the  impossibility  of  fixing  the  guilt,  it  has  not 
been  as  successful  in  the  matter  of  infant  murder  as  in  the  case 
of  other  inhuman  practices.  The  crime  has  been  prohibited  by 
British  law  since  1802,  and  this  proscriptive  legislation  has 
gradually  been  extended  to  all  parts  of  India,  and  more 
recently  it  has  been  enacted  that  in  all  proclaimed  villages  the 
proportion  of  girls  born  should  bear  a certain  ratio  to  the 
boys,  as  it  has  been  clearly  indicated  by  experience  that  the 


THE  FAMILY  GROUP 


69 


normal  proportion  is  about  equal.  A strict  surveillance  by 
the  proper  officials  throughout  Northern  and  Western  India 
has  secured  at  the  present  time  a ratio  of  four  girls  to  six  boys, 
which  is  a decided  improvement  upon  the  past.  The  secrecy 
of  the  zenana  renders  it  almost  impossible  to  prove  a case  of 
infanticide,  and,  even  though  the  act  of  murder  should  not  be 
violently  committed,  the  object  can  be  attained  with  almost 
equal  certainty  by  neglect.  In  the  last  census  the  relative 
number  of  girls  to  ioo  boys  shows  a marked  improvement 
over  past  records.  The  average  for  all  India  is  92  girls  to 
every  100  boys.  The  lowest  recorded  ratio  is  69/^  in 
Quetta,  British  Baluchistan,  and  the  next  is  83^^  in  Sindh, 
while  in  Rajputana,  once  so  noted  for  the  prevalence  of 
infanticide,  it  has  risen  to  87^0.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  in 
Upper  Burma,  where  woman  occupies  a position  of  ex- 
ceptional honor,  the  recorded  ratio  is  io2t7<j9f  girls  to  every 
100  boys.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  with  the  progress  of  Chris- 
tianity and  the  abolition  of  the  absurd  extravagances  of  mar- 
riage the  natural  heart  of  India  will  revolt  from  the  heinous- 
ness of  this  crime,  and  infanticide  will  disappear  forever. 

4.  In  the  Pacific  Islands  infanticide  has  prevailed  to  a 
frightful  extent  under  circumstances  of  exceptional  heartless- 
ness and  cruelty.  “ The  early  missionaries  have  testified  that 
not  less  than  two-thirds  of  the  children  were  put  to  death. 
Especially  were  female  children  killed.  ‘ Why  should  the 
girl  live?’  they  [the  natives]  would  say.  ‘She  cannot  poise 
the  spear,  she  cannot  wield  the  club.’  A mother  would  often 
strangle  her  own  child,  with  one  hand  holding  the  nostrils  and 
the  other  holding  the  mouth,  and  then  herself  dig  the  grave 
and  bury  the  child. M The  above  statement  was  made  con- 
cerning the  Fiji  Islands,  but  it  is  substantially  true  with  refer- 
ence to  almost  the  entire  island  world.  The  Samoan  Group 
seems  to  have  presented  a remarkable  exception  to  other  sec- 
tions of  Polynesia,  as  infanticide  is  said  never  to  have  pre- 
vailed there. 

5.  As  we  enter  the  “ habitations  of  cruelty  ” in  the  Dark 

Continent,  the  crime  of  infanticide  is  found  in  ghastly  pro- 
portions. Among  certain  savage  races  the  advent  of  twins 
seems  to  excite  every  instinct  of  fear  and  brutality.  In  an  ad- 
dress at  a Ladies’  Meeting  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society, 
Mrs.  Hill,  the  wife  of  the  lamented  Bishop  Hill,  of  Western 
Equatorial  Africa,  made  the  following  statement:  “The 


70  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON- CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


birth  of  twins  is  considered  a great  curse,  and  the  woman  that 
has  twins  is  disgraced  for  life  afterward,  and  she  is  compelled 
to  throw  the  twins  into  the  wood,  where  they  are  left  to  die. 
In  a town  five  miles  distant  from  where  we  were  there  are  five 
hundred  infants  annually  sacrificed  in  these  two  ways : they 
are  murdered  by  hundreds,  and  left  to  die  in  the  way  which 
I have  stated. ” Dr.  Laws  (United  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Scotland),  in  writing  from  Old  Calabar,  a neighboring  mission 
to  Bishop  Hill’s,  says,  “ It  is  almost  impossible  for  any  one  at 
home  to  imagine  the  horror  with  which  the  birth  of  twins  is 
regarded  by  the  natives,  and  especially  by  the  native  women.” 
In  the  same  connection  he  refers  to  the  “ destruction  of  twins  ” 
as  one  of  the  great  obstacles  to  the  progress  of  Christianity  in 
Old  Calabar,  inasmuch  as  the  missionaries  insist  upon  an  entire 
change  of  custom  as  essential  to  the  profession  of  Christianity. 

The  missionary  literature  of  other  societies  at  work  in 
Africa,  especially  that  of  the  Universities’  Mission  and  the 
London  Missionary  Society,  yields  similar  statements  with 
reference  to  “the  fearful  amount  of  child  murder”  prevailing 
in  Africa.  In  some  instances  the  heinous  guilt  of  the  little 
victim  is  declared  to  be  that  it  “cut  its  upper  teeth  first.”  In 
other  instances,  strange  to  say,  its  fatal  offence  is  reported  as 
“cutting  a lower  tooth  before  the  upper  ones.”  In  both  cases 
the  father  was  the  executioner,  fearing  death  himself  if  the  in- 
fant lived.  If  a child  should  cut  a tooth  before  birth  its 
doom  is  sealed,  according  to  what  is  known  as  the  custom  of 
the  “ vigego.” 

6.  That  infanticide  has  been  only  too  well  known  among 
the  Indians  of  North  and  South  America  is  the  testimony  of 
those  who  are  familiar  with  their  history.  To  the  credit  of 
the  Mohammedans  it  may  be  said  that,  except  in  the  case  of 
illegitimate  children,  infanticide  is  not  now  practiced,  being 
prohibited  in  the  Koran. 


IV 


THE  TRIBAL  GROUP 

(Evils  which  pertain  to  intertribal  relationships  and  find  their  origin  in 
the  cruel  passions  of  savage  life) 

Turning  now  from  the  consideration  of  those  evils  which 
may  be  differentiated  as  individual  or  domestic  in  their  origin 
and  character,  we  come  to  a group  whose  genesis  is  tribal, 
pertaining  rather  to  life  in  the  larger  relationships  of  clan, 
tribe,  or  race.  As  will  be  noted,  this  is  a classification  which 
is  far  from  precise  or  exclusive,  yet  it  is  perhaps  as  definite  as 
we  can  hope  to  attain. 

The  Traffic  in  Human  Flesh. — The  slave-traffic  and  its 
twin  evil,  slavery,  have  shadowed  human  history  from  the 
earliest  times.  Barbarous  pride,  inhuman  greed,  and  the  for- 
tunes of  war  among  savage  races  have  proved  a sufficient 
stimulus  to  this  cruel  wrong. 

i.  A compact  survey  of  the  status  of  slavery  in  Greece  and 
Rome,  and  of  the  enormous  extent  of  the  slave-traffic  in  those 
great  empires,  will  be  found  in  the  excellent  little  volume  of 
Dr.  Ingram,  who  gives  also,  in  chapter  vi.,  a brief  history  of 
the  rise  of  the  African  slave-trade  in  the  latter  half  of  the  fif- 
teenth century,  when  the  Portuguese,  under  Prince  Henry  the 
Navigator,  made  their  first  venture  in  “ black  men  and  gold- 
dust.”  The  awful  scourge  of  colonial  slavery  and  its  mon- 
strous crime  of  slave  hunting  and  transportation  followed  with 
an  amazingly  rapid  development.  Its  history , covering  a 
period  of  over  two  hundred  and  fifty  years,  presents  perhaps 
the  most  colossal  wrong  that  man  has  ever  inflicted  upon  man, 
unless  we  except  the  age-long  records  of  war.  Commerce  in 
slaves  was  common  in  Russia  until,  in  the  reign  of  Alexander 
II.,  it  came  to  an  end  with  the  abolition  of  serfdom  in  1861. 
By  this  memorable  act  of  emancipation,  in  which  were  in- 
cluded the  serfs  of  the  State,  of  the  imperial  appanages,  and 
of  the  individual  proprietors  as  well,  over  forty  million  bond- 
men  were  set  free.  Mohammedanism  has  been  throughout  its 

71 


72  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


history  responsible  for  the  slave-hunt  and  the  slave-market  as 
necessary  accompaniments  to  the  slavery  it  recognizes  and 
sanctions.  The  African  slave-trade  in  modern  times  has  been 
maintained  to  a large  extent  for  the  supply  of  Moslem  markets 
in  Arabia,  Persia,  Turkey,  Egypt,  Tripoli,  and  Morocco. 

2.  Livingstone  was  the  instrument  used  by  Providence  to 
awaken  civilized  nations  to  the  enormity  of  this  great  evil  and 
its  awful  cruelties.  Pie  pronounced  it,  in  words  which  have 
lived  and  burned  in  the  conscience  of  Christendom,  to  be 
“the  open  sore  of  the  world. ” Since  the  abolition  of  the 
external  traffic  on  the  West  Coast,  which  drained  the  deep  re- 
cesses of  the  Continent  for  the  supply  of  the  colonial  markets, 
there  still  lingers  an  internal  trade  among  the  native  tribes  of 
West  Africa.  The  main  avenues  of  the  traffic , however,  have 
branched  out  in  three  directions  from  East  Central  Africa  and 
the  Soudan  as  centres,  and  along  these  dreary  paths  the  tramp 
of  the  ghastly  caravans  may  still  be  heard.  One  of  these 
finds  its  outlet  from  the  Western  Soudan  in  a northerly  direc- 
tion through  the  burning  regions  of  the  Sahara  to  the  Moham- 
medan States  of  North  Africa,  especially  Tripoli  and  Morocco. 
Another  is  eastward  to  the  coast,  whence  the  slaves  are  con- 
veyed to  the  markets  in  Arabia,  Persia,  and  Turkey  in  the 
north,  and,  until  recently,  to  Madagascar  in  the  south.  The 
third  route  is  by  the  Nile  Valley,  through  which  a large  traffic 
was  formerly  carried  on,  but  which  in  late  years  has  been  so 
carefully  guarded  that  it  is  not  available  except  in  instances 
where  secrecy  or  cunning  can  succeed  in  eluding  detection. 

3.  According  to  a careful  estimate,  based  upon  the  per- 
sonal investigations  of  such  explorers  as  Livingstone,  Gordon, 
Cameron,  Lavigerie,  and  others,  the  annual  sacrifice  of  lives 
in  Africa  by  the  slave-trade,  as  conducted  a generation  ago, 
was  not  less  than  five  hundred  thousand.  If  we  add  to  this 
the  victims  transported  into  slavery  and  those  exiled  from 
their  burning  villages  and  their  ruined  homes,  we  may  regard 
the  total  number  of  those  who  were  at  that  time  victims  to  the 
slave-trader’s  violence  as  not  less  than  two  millions  annually. 
Much  has  been  done  within  a quarter  of  a century  to  mitigate 
these  horrors  and  lessen  their  volume,  but  that  the  slave-trade 
still  exists  to  an  extent  hardly  realized  by  Christendom  is  a 
fact  which  cannot  be  doubted.  It  is  to  a lamentable  extent  a 
feature  of  internal  commerce  between  the  African  tribes  them- 
selves, and  all  the  efforts  to  seal  its  outlets  along  the  extensive 


THE  TRIBAL  GROUP 


73 


unguarded  coast-line  of  East  Africa  have  been  as  yet  only  par- 
tially successful. 

4.  In  the  Congo  Free  State  energetic  attempts  have  been 
made,  with  considerable  success,  to  break  up  the  Arab  strong- 
holds of  the  traffic  in  the  northeasterly  regions  of  the  State. 
The  action  of  the  Brussels  Conference  of  1889-90,  which 
had  for  one  of  its  objects  the  suppression  of  the  slave-trade, 
has  given  a stimulus  among  all  civilized  nations  to  aggressive 
and  benevolent  efforts  for  its  repression.  It  is  in  harmony 
with  the  agreement  entered  upon  at  that  Conference  that  the 
recent  campaign  upon  the  northern  and  eastern  borders  of 
the  Congo  State  was  conducted.  Germany,  England,  and 
France  have  responded  to  the  sentiment  embodied  in  the 
Brussels  Act,  and  have  throttled  the  giant  evil  here  and  there 
throughout  their  vast  possessions  and  spheres  of  influence  in 
Africa;  yet  the  testimony  of  travellers  who  have  penetrated 
the  interior,  of  missionaries  in  various  parts  of  the  Continent, 
and  especially  the  recent  report  of  Mr.  Donald  Mackenzie, 
who  in  1895  visited  the  East  Coast  of  Africa  from  Suakin  to 
Zanzibar  as  a special  Commissioner  of  the  British  and  Foreign 
Anti-Slavery  Society,  leave  no  room  for  doubt  that  the  slave- 
trade  is  still  a grim  reality  in  Africa.  Such  is  also  the  testi- 
mony of  Mr.  Heli  Chatelain  who  has  resided  for  many  years 
in  West  Africa,  and  who  has  been  instrumental  in  organizing 
the  “ Philafrican  Liberators*  League**  in  the  United  States, 
for  the  purpose  of  establishing  colonies  in  Africa,  according 
to  the  suggestion  of  the  Brussels  Act,  for  the  protection  and 
industrial  training  of  liberated  slaves. 

Slave-markets  for  intertribal  trade  are  scattered  along  the 
West  Coast.  In  Yorubaland  young  children  are  driven  like 
sheep  to  be  sold  in  the  shambles.  In  a recent  volume  on 
Hausaland,  by  Charles  H.  Robinson,  M.  A.,  startling  state- 
ments are  made  concerning  the  extent  and  cruelty  of  the  slave- 
traffic  in  the  Hausa  States  and  throughout  the  Western  Sou- 
dan. His  description  of  the  slave-market  at  Kano,  of  the 
slave-raiding  throughout  that  section  of  Africa,  and  of  the 
singular  custom  of  using  slaves  as  currency,  indicates  that  this 
region,  although  nominally  under  English  supervision,  through 
the  Royal  Niger  Company,  is  cursed  by  the  most  abandoned 
and  heartless  species  of  slave-raiding  and  slave-trading.  In 
the  market  at  Kano  there  is  an  average  of  about  five  hundred 
human  beings  daily  on  sale.  It  appears,  in  fact,  that  about 


74  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


every  important  town  in  the  Hausa  States  possesses  a slave- 
market.  The  tribute  paid  by  the  smaller  States  to  the  larger 
consists  usually  of  slaves.  The  Sultan  of  Sokoto  receives  a 
small  army  of  them  every  year  as  his  annual  tribute.  Mr. 
Robinson  declares  that  “ one  out  of  every  three  hundred  per- 
sons now  living  in  the  world  is  a Hausa-speaking  slave,”  and 
justifies  the  statement  upon  the  basis  of  a Hausa-speaking  pop- 
ulation of  fifteen  millions,  or  one  per  cent,  of  the  world’s  in- 
habitants. As  he  regards  it  as  beyond  question  that  at  least 
one- third  of  these  are  in  a state  of  slavery,  this  would  result 
in  one  Hausa-speaking  slave  to  every  three  hundred  of  the 
world’s  population. 

In  “ Fire  and  Sword  in  the  Sudan,”  by  Slatin  Pasha,  trans- 
lated by  Major  Wingate,  is  another  harrowing  account  of 
slavery  and  the  slave-trade  in  the  Soudan , chiefly  in  the  east- 
ern section . His  descriptions  of  the  desert  slave-routes,  and 
how  women  and  girls  are  treated,  present  records  of  cruelty 
which  are  almost  too  appalling  to  quote. 

5.  The  existence  of  slave-markets  in  Morocco , supplied  by 
transportation  across  the  Sahara  from  the  Western  Soudan  and 
the  regions  of  the  Upper  Niger,  is  confirmed  by  abundant 
testimony.  Mr.  Henry  Gurney  assures  us  that  he  himself  vis- 
ited slave-markets  in  Morocco  City  and  Fez,  in  1894.  Sub- 
stantially the  same  information  is  given  by  correspondents  who 
accompanied  the  Embassy  of  Marshal  Martinez  Campos  to 
the  Court  of  Morocco,  who  report  the  sale  of  slaves  within 
view  of  the  Imperial  Palace,  and  by  Luis  Morote  in  a commu- 
nication to  the  Spanish  Anti-Slavery  Society,  describing  the 
slave-markets  in  Morocco  City,  after  a visit  to  Morocco  in  the 
winter  of  1893-94.  Mr.  Morote  speaks  of  the  horrors  of  the 
slave-raids  and  the  long  caravan  journeys  across  the  trackless 
desert  from  Timbuctoo  or  the  far  Soudan.  A correspondent 
of  The  New  York  Tribune , in  a letter  from  Mogador,  quoted 
in  Illustrated  Africa , November,  1895,  p.  11,  declares  that 
the  trade  has  never  been  so  thriving  and  prosperous  as  it  is  at 
present. 

There  is  also  a restricted  traffic  through  the  ports  of  Tripoli , 
although  carried  on  under  the  cover  of  various  disguises,  since 
by  treaty  with  England  the  slave-trade  in  that  province  is  ille- 
gal. In  Egypt  the  trade  is  happily  under  strict  espionage,  and 
at  Cairo  a home  for  freed  women  slaves  has  been  established, 
where  in  1895  seventy-one  were  received;  but  of  these  only 


THE  TRIBAL  GROUP 


75 


three  were  found  to  have  been  imported  recently  from  outside, 
and  the  remainder  were  domestic  slaves  who  had  been  set  free. 
The  English  Government  has  established  stations  in  the  Nile 
Valley  for  watching  the  traffic,  and  along  the  Red  Sea  coast 
north  of  Suakin  a camel  corps  is  constantly  patrolling  to  de- 
tect any  signs  either  of  export  or  import.  Unfortunately, 
south  of  Suakin  the  Red  Sea  coast  is  practically  unguarded, 
and  the  slaver  still  finds  in  that  section  an  outlet  for  his  chat- 
tel. 

6.  The  Red  Sea  coast  from  Suakin  southward  to  the  Strait 
of  Bab-el-Mandeb,  and  the  entire  coast-line  around  Cape 
Guardafui  to  Zanzibar,  have  hardly  any  effective  restraint  put 
upon  the  traffic.  The  report  of  Mr.  Donald  Mackenzie,  al- 
ready referred  to  as  special  Commissioner  of  the  British  and 
Foreign  Anti-Slavery  Society,  gives  an  elaborate  account  of 
his  visit  of  investigation,  in  1895,  along  the  coast  and  to  the 
opposite  shores  of  Arabia.  The  evidence  that  he  presents  of 
a considerable  traffic  is  convincing.  The  main  recruiting - 
ground  is  Danakli  and  Aussa,  and  from  the  ports  of  Massowah, 
Mader,  Eid,  Margebelah,  and  Roheitah  the  slaves  are  shipped 
across  to  the  Fursan  Islands,  which  are  a hotbed  of  slavery, 
and  to  Hodeidah  and  other  ports.  In  some  instances  they  are 
transported  around  to  the  eastern  coast  of  Arabia.  His  report 
is  strange  reading  for  the  nineteenth  century,  and  gives  some 
revolting  details  of  cruelty  and  suffering. 

The  report  of  Mr.  Mackenzie  concerning  the  slave-traffic  in 
Zanzibar  and  Pemba  brings  a still  more  unwelcome  surprise. 
The  Sultanate  of  Zanzibar  has  been  a protectorate  of  Great 
Britain  since  1890,  and  according  to  treaties  made  in  1873, 
confirmed  by  a decree  of  the  Sultan,  August  12,  1890,  the 
slave-trade  is  under  prohibition  with  severe  penalties.  Ac- 
cording to  evidence  gathered  by  Mr.  Mackenzie  during  his 
visit  in  the  spring  of  1895,  these  restrictions  are  practically  a 
dead  letter.  Out  of  a total  population  of  400,000,  about  266,- 
000  are  slaves,  and  to  maintain  this  status  of  slavery  an  impor- 
tation from  the  mainland  of  at  least  6,000  annually  is  required, 
representing  a yearly  sacrifice  of  not  less  than  24,000  lives. 
He  estimates  further  that  some  1 1,000  are  annually  shipped 
either  from  the  mainland  or  from  the  islands  of  Zanzibar  and 
Pemba  to  the  Arabian  coast,  representing  a further  slaughter 
of  40,000  lives,  since  every  slave  who  leaves  the  coast  is 
roughly  calculated  as  standing  for  four  others  who  have  been 


76  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


slain  in  the  process  of  his  capture  and  transportation  to  the 
coast. 

Upon  the  basis  of  these  facts  most  urgent  appeals  are  made 
for  the  total  abolition  by  the  British  Government  of  the  status 
of  slavery  in  Zanzibar.  The  British  and  Foreign  Anti-Slavery 
Society  is  in  communication  with  the  Government  on  the  sub- 
ject. Bishop  Tucker  of  Uganda  has  also  written,  emphasizing 
the  imperative  demand  for  some  Government  action  which  will 
forever  abolish  the  present  scandal.  Mr.  Mackenzie  also  passes 
severe  strictures  upon  the  system  of  securing  porters  for  trips 
into  the  interior.  He  regards  them  as  in  reality  slaves,  who 
are  owned  by  masters  in  Zanzibar,  and  who  hand  over  to  their 
owners  one  half  of  their  earnings.  The  mortality  among 
these  caravans  of  porters  he  estimates  as  high  as  thirty  per 
cent.,  and  his  account  of  the  system  indicates  that  it  should 
be  under  more  effective  regulations.  A confirmation  of  Mr. 
Mackenzie’s  statements  about  exportation  to  Arabia  is  found 
in  an  extract  from  a letter  of  the  Rev.  P.  J.  Zwemer,  of  the 
Arabian  Mission,  dated  Muscat,  October  9,  1895.  He  says : 
“ A large  number  of  Negroes  are  still  imported  sub  rosa  from 
Africa.  Although  slave-importation  as  a trade  is  no  longer 
carried  on,  yet  the  method  of  supplying  the  Arab  with  free 
Negro  labor  is  very  simple.  Africa  is  the  source  of  supply, 
and  transportation  is  easily  effected  under  the  tricolor  (French), 
which  defies  British  inspection.” 

Mr.  Mackenzie  also  visited  the  German  territory  in  East 
Africa  south  of  Zanzibar,  and  reports  the  existence  of  an 
enormous  slave-traffic  from  the  interior  of  the  Continent  into 
German  East  Africa,  but  almost  an  entire  prohibition  of  any 
export  through  the  ports.  His  account  of  cruelties  to  the  na- 
tives under  German  rule  is  hardly  credible,  yet  it  is  fully  con- 
firmed by  Miss  Balfour  in  her  recent  book,  “ Twelve  Hundred 
Miles  in  a Waggon,”  in  an  account  of  her  visit  to  Dar-es- 
Salam. 

7.  In  the  regions  around  Lake  Nyassa , now  a British 
protectorate,  vigorous  measures  have  been  taken  by  Commis- 
sioner H.  H.  Joii7iston  to  stamp  out  the  slave-traffic.  Mili- 
tary operations  upon  a considerable  scale  have  been  conducted, 
and  several  prominent  leaders  among  the  Arab  slave-traders 
have  been  slain  and  their  business  broken  up.  A chain  of 
forts  has  been  established  in  the  Nyassaland  Protectorate  under 
the  administration  of  this  energetic  representative  of  the  British 


THE  TRIBAL  GROUP 


77 


Government,  which  guard  the  old  slave-routes  so  effectively 
that  the  whole  traffic  may  be  said  to  be  under  surveillance  and 
control  within  the  limits  of  the  protectorate.  The  Commis- 
sioner reports  (Africa,  No.  4,  1896,  p.  25):  “I  have  the 

pleasure  now  to  inform  your  Lordship  that,  as  far  as  I am 
aware,  there  does  not  exist  a single  independent  avowedly 
slave-trading  chief  within  the  British  Central  Africa  Protec- 
torate. ” He  also  writes  in  a recent  letter:  “We  have  had 

splendid  news  from  Lake  Nyassa  lately.  I do  not  think  now 
there  is  a recalcitrant  slave-trading  chief  left  unconquered. 
With  the  fall  of  Tambala  the  last  slave- trading  Yao  chief  in 
the  protectorate  has  gone.” 

Interesting  tidings  from  this  section  of  Africa  have  come 
through  the  reports  of  Mr.  E.  J.  Glave , who  was  sent  out  by 
the  Century  Company  to  obtain  information  on  the  slave-trade 
for  publication  in  The  Century  Magazine . Mr.  Glave  entered 
Africa  at  the  Zambezi,  and  journeyed  to  Lake  Nyassa,  and 
from  thence  in  a northwesterly  direction  until  he  descended 
the  Congo  and  reached  Matadi.  While  waiting  there  for  the 
homeward-bound  steamer,  he  was  stricken  with  fever  and 
died.  A series  of  illustrated  articles  made  up  of  extracts  from 
his  journal  are  to  be  found  in  The  Ceritury  Magazine , com- 
mencing with  August,  1896,  in  which  graphic  pictures  are 
given  of  the  struggles  with  the  exporting  slave-trade  in  the 
Nyassa  Protectorate.  He  speaks  incidentally  of  Livingstone  and 
his  wife  as  the  pioneers  of  civilization  in  those  regions.  In  Cen- 
tral Africa  for  October,  1895,  printed  an  extract  from  one  of 
his  letters,  describing  his  journey  from  Lake  Nyassa  to  Lake 
Bangweolo,  in  which  he  speaks  of  the  earnest  request  of  natives 
whom  he  met,  that  white  men  might  come  to  their  country 
and  protect  them  against  the  slave-raiders,  “who  are  playing 
terrible  havoc  all  over  the  land.”  He  reports  seeing  “ the 
ruins  of  dozens  of  villages  which  have  been  destroyed  by  these 
raiders,  and  the  occupants  carried  into  slavery.” 

8.  In  the  Island  of  Madagascar  a decree  of  the  Queen,  in 
1877,  freed  the  African  slaves  in  her  dominion,  and  forbade 
their  import  or  export ; yet  domestic  native  slaves  and  serfs 
exist  in  abundance,  and,  according  to  a special  correspondent 
of  The  London  Times,  writing  under  date  of  April  n,  1895, 
slave-raids  are  still  carried  on  in  the  interior  of  the  island,  and 
in  another  communication  an  account  is  given  of  the  slave- 
market  in  the  capital.  The  Ibara  tribesmen  and  the  Sakalava 


78  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON- CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


are  represented  as  inveterate  slave-dealers.  The  Hovas  them- 
selves stand  in  terror  of  these  cruel  forest  tribes.  The  status, 
however,  has  been  happily  changed  from  what  it  was  at  the 
beginning  of  the  present  century,  when  Madagascar  was  an 
original  source  of  supply  for  the  slave-trade,  and  from  three 
to  four  thousand  Malagasy  were,  according  to  reliable  data, 
exported  annually  to  America  or  the  West  Indies.  In  1817 
this  slave-trade  was  abolished  by  treaty  between  England  and 
Madagascar. 

9.  Our  survey  of  the  African  Continent  reveals  encouraging 
progress  in  comparison  with  the  state  of  things  a generation 
ago,  but  it  is  plain  that  there  is  still  much  to  be  done  before 
the  barbarities  of  the  slave-trade  will  cease.  Were  it  not  for 
the  restraining  influence  of  European  governments,  albeit  as 
yet  too  imperfectly  exercised,  we  should  still  have  this  cursed 
business  in  full  blast.  With  the  entrance  of  European  con- 
trol, the  establishment  of  commerce,  the  opening  of  roads, 
and  especially  of  railways,  and  the  more  vigorous  intervention 
of  the  authorities,  we  may  hope  that  the  traffic  in  slaves  will 
gradually  disappear. 

10.  In  the  Pacific  Islands  the  kidnapping  of  natives  for 
purposes  of  the  slave-trade  has  been  known  even  under 
European  traders,  and  Pacific  Islanders  have  been  trans- 
ported to  South  America.  Even  as  late  as  1890,  “ the  ship 
i Alma  * took  four  hundred  natives  of  Micronesia  to  Guatemala, 
and  two  years  afterward  only  one  hundred  and  eighty  of  them 
were  living,  the  rest  having  died  of  fevers  contracted  in  the 
malarious  swamps  of  the  plantations.  In  1892  the  brig 
* Tahiti  ’ took  three  hundred  natives  from  the  Gilbert  Islands 
to  labor  on  plantations  in  Central  America,  and  was  capsized 
near  the  coast  of  Mexico.  Not  one  of  its  living  freight  was 
ever  heard  of.”  Even  steamers  have  been  employed  in  the 
same  service.  These  unfortunate  islanders  on  arrival  in 
Guatemala  are  put  to  work  upon  the  plantations  under  condi- 
tions which  virtually  amount  to  slavery.  Rev.  John  G.  Paton, 
of  the  New  Hebrides  Mission,  has  investigated  the  Kanaka 
labor-traffic,  which  he  pronounces  a species  of  colonial  slavery. 
He  has  estimated  that  seventy  thousand  Pacific  Islanders  have 
been  taken  from  their  homes  by  slave-hunters.  It  was  in 
revenge  for  the  crime  of  kidnapping  by  traders  that  Bishop 
Patteson  was  slain  upon  one  of  the  islands  of  the  Santa  Cruz 
group  in  September,  1871.  An  account  of  the  Queensland 


THE  TRIBAL  GROUP 


79 


Kanaka  traffic  and  its  horrors  is  given  by  the  Rev.  Oscar 
Michelsen. 

n.  The  trade  in  coolies  from  China  and  India y and  to  a 
very  limited  extent  from  Japan,  for  the  South  American  and 
West  Indian  plantations  has  been  in  some  respects  not  far  re- 
moved from  a veritable  slave- traffic.  The  slave-trade  as  it  is 
known  in  Africa  does  not  exist  in  China,  but  the  coolie-traffic 
gained  a bad  prominence  before  it  was  brought  within  re- 
strictions. The  Japanese  Government,  to  its  honor,  fought  it 
fiercely  and  successfully.  The  coolie-traffic  from  India  for 
the  West  Indian  plantations  has  been,  and  is  still,  open  to  the 
same  strictures.  The  position  of  the  so-called  coolie  emi- 
grant when  he  reaches  his  destination  is  little  better  than  a 
slave.  As  late  as  1893  there  were  one  Dutch  and  seven  Eng- 
lish agencies  engaged  in  the  transportation  of  coolies.  They 
are  usually  transported  in  sailing  vessels,  of  which  seventeen 
cleared  from  Calcutta  alone  in  1893,  as  well  as  three  steam- 
ships. The  exportation  from  Calcutta  amounted  to  10,674, 
making  an  average  of  533  per  vessel.  “ Recently  about  four 
hundred  of  these  i voluntary  1 emigrants  begged  the  people  of 
Calcutta  to  be  liberated,  as  they  had  been  made  to  leave  their 
homes  and  relations  by  force.  They  attacked  their  escort,  and 
about  thirty  escaped.  The  rest,  however,  were  driven  down 
to  the  landing  by  the  police  as  if  they  were  sheep.” 

12.  In  India  there  is  no  slave-trade  so  called,  but  children 
are  often  sold,  especially  in  times  of  famine,  and  there  is  also 
a secret  trade  in  female  slaves  in  certain  districts  of  the  country. 
“ Malwa  has  long  been  noted  for  its  traffic  in  females.”  Many 
of  the  Rajput  chiefs  have  their  retinue  of  slaves.  At  the  time 
of  the  distressing  famine  in  Rajputana,  in  1868-70,  “ children 
were  sold  by  their  parents  for  sums  varying  from  one  to  five 
rupees.”  These  incidents  are  happily  rare,  however,  in  India 
at  the  present  day,  and  the  watchfulness  of  the  Government  is 
most  effective.  In  Persia  there  is  slavery  to  a considerable 
extent,  the  ranks  being  recruited  from  the  African  coast,  by 
way  of  the  Persian  Gulf  or  across  Arabia  overland. 

13.  The  atrocioics  cruelties  of  the  African  slave-trade  have 
been  vividly  described  by  Livingstone,  Stanley,  Baker, 
Cameron,  and  others,  and  there  is  no  need  of  dwelling  upon 
the  subject  here.  “ Fire  and  Sword  in  the  Sudan,”  by  Slatin 
Pasha,  previously  referred  to,  contains  recent  information. 

Slavery. — Slavery  is  linked  with  the  slave-trade,  both  as 


80  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 

cause  and  effect.  It  is  one  of  the  ancient  sorrows  of  the 
world,  but  we  cannot  deal  with  its  history  here.  It  is  pleasant 
to  observe  that  there  are  some  sections  of  the  Oriental  world 
where  it  has  never  existed.  This  is  notably  the  case  among 
the  Japanese. 

1.  There  are  other  regions  where  happily  it  has  been  abol- 
ished. With  the  singular  exception  of  the  Sultanate  of  Zanzibar, 
this  has  been  true  of  the  British  Empire  since  1833,  including 
its  West  Indian  colonies  and  British  Guiana.  In  1848  France 
declared  that  no  more  slaves  should  be  admitted  into  French 
territory.  Serfdom  in  Russia  ceased  with  the  decree  of  Alex- 
ander II.,  in  1861,  and  the  Emancipation  Proclamation  of 
President  Lincoln,  in  1863,  restored  to  freedom  6,000,000 
bondmen  in  the  United  States.  In  1889  slavery  was  abolished 
in  Brazil,  as  it  had  been  in  most  of  the  South  American  re- 
publics at  the  time  of  their  establishment.  It  is  now  the 
universal  policy  of  civilized  nations  to  prohibit  the  status  of 
slavery. 

2.  It  is  an  evil  which  still  exists , however,  in  vast  sec- 
tions of  the  non-  Christian  world.  It  may  be  said  to  be  uni- 
versal in  Africa,  except  where  European  influence  has  been 
exerted  in  prohibition.  It  is  characteristic  of  all  Moham- 
medan society,  and  is  found  in  Madagascar,  where  fully  one- 
third  of  the  population  is  in  bondage.  In  China,  Korea, 
Siam,  Assam,  in  some  of  the  Native  States  of  India,  in  Afghan- 
istan, and  in  Central  America  it  is  also  to  be  found.  It  is 
hardly  necessary  to  refer  at  any  length  to  the  fact  of  its  preva- 
lence in  Africa,  as  every  explorer,  traveller,  and  missionary 
bears  witness  to  the  evil ; nor  does  the  fact  that  it  is  a feature 
of  the  social  and  religious  system  of  Islam  need  to  be  dwelt 
upon.  In  Madagascar,  although  slavery  is  rather  of  a domes- 
tic and  patriarchal  kind,  with  less  severity  than  usual  in  the 
treatment  of  slaves,  yet  its  evils  are  by  no  means  light.  The 
slave-market  is  a familiar  sight,  and  the  separation  of  families 
is  of  common  occurrence.  As  France  has  now  assumed  colo- 
nial supervision  of  Madagascar,  the  question  of  the  application 
to  the  island  of  the  laws  of  France  pertaining  to  the  abolition 
of  slavery  has  engaged  the  attention  of  the  French  Govern- 
ment. M.  Lebon,  the  French  Minister  for  the  Colonies,  has 
declared  that  the  law  of  abolition  is  now  applicable  to  Mada- 
gascar, but  he  remarks  further  that  “ the  Government  reserved 
to  itself  the  right  of  promulgating  this  law  at  the  time  when  it 


THE  TRIBAL  GROUP 


81 


deemed  fitting,  in  order  that  the  situation  might  not  be  com- 
plicated by  a too  hurried  application  of  its  provisions.* ’ 

3.  In  China  domestic  slavery , mostly  of  females,  exists  ex- 
tensively throughout  the  empire.  The  girls  are  usually  pur- 
chased from  their  parents  while  still  young,  and  the  trade  is 
especially  active  in  times  of  famine,  drought,  or  pestilence,  or 
merely  as  an  expedient  in  poverty.  There  is  much  that  is 
shocking  and  suggestive  of  grinding  drudgery,  attended  often 
by  ill-treatment,  which  comes  to  light  now  and  then  concern- 
ing the  domestic  features  of  Chinese  slavery.  A darker  aspect 
of  it  is  that  servitude  is  often  another  name  for  immorality.  In 
Korea , although  the  abolition  of  slavery  has  been  declared  by 
edict,  the  institution  still  exists,  and  the  law  is  practically  in- 
operative, but  it  is  almost  altogether  confined  to  the  nobles 
and  to  the  wealthier  families  of  the  land.  In  Siam  the  Gov- 
vernment  is  virtually  in  place  of  master  over  its  subjects,  and 
in  its  demands  for  service  pays  little  deference  to  personal 
rights.  In  addition,  a species  of  slavery  for  debt  prevails  ex- 
tensively, which  is  also  true  in  the  Laos  country.  In  Assam 
the  same  custom  of  selling  children  to  pay  debts,  or  in  some 
cases  as  offerings  to  the  demons,  is  a pitiable  incident  in  many 
a family  history.  If  some  child  of  the  family  is  stricken  with 
disease,  the  superstitious  parents,  while  dreading  and  bemoan- 
ing the  supposed  necessity,  will  sell  their  children  one  after 
another  in  the  hope  of  providing  an  appeasing  sacrifice  for  the 
demon  and  securing  the  release  and  recovery  of  the  sick  mem- 
ber of  the  family.  Children  thus  sold  are  rarely  redeemed, 
and  what  is  practically  a state  of  slavery  is  thereby  created. 

4.  In  India , although  the  status  of  slavery  is  not  recog- 
nized by  the  British  Government,  and  the  institution  as  such 
is  prohibited,  yet  in  the  Native  States,  and  to  some  extent  in 
British  territory,  is  found  a system  of  labor  slavery  which  is 
substantially  the  same  as  the  bondage  for  debt  above  referred 
to.  It  is  one  of  the  advantages  of  British  rule  that  the  days  of 
the  old  slave-kings  have  forever  passed.  The  attachment  of 
serfs  to  the  soil,  which  amounted  to  slavery  a century  ago,  has 
been  gradually  mitigated  and  banished  by  British  law.  Until 
1843,  however,  the  hereditary  slaves  in  Madras  were  sold  with 
the  land. 

5.  In  Afghanistan  the  Amir  has  come  into  notoriety  of 
late  upon  charges  of  being  a kidnapper  and  slave- raider  among 
neighboring  independent  tribes,  especially  the  Kafirs  of  the 


82  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


Hindu-Kush.  In  fact,  the  extinction  of  the  latter  people 
seems  to  be  well  under  way.  That  slavery  exists  in  Afghan- 
istan is  evident.  A recent  volume  by  John  Alfred  Gray, 
M.  B.,  late  Surgeon  to  the  Amir,  entitled  “At  the  Court  of  the 
Amir/ ’ gives  undoubted  testimony  upon  this  point.  He  re- 
ports that  “the  slaves  of  Kabul  are  those  who  have  been  kid- 
napped from  Kafiristan,  and  who  are  prisoners  of  war  taken 
when  some  tribe  breaks  out  in  rebellion  against  the  Amir.” 
Other  quotations  fully  confirming  the  status  of  slavery  might 
be  given. 

6.  Slavery  for  debt  exists  in  some  sections  of  Central 
America.  The  Rev.  E.  M.  Haymaker  (Presbyterian  Board  of 
Foreign  Missions,  North),  of  Guatemala  City,  writes : “ Virtual 
slavery  exists  in  some  parts  of  the  republic.  The  law  compels 
a laborer  to  stay  and  work  with  his  employer  till  his  debt  is 
discharged.  The  employer,  however,  has  the  means  at  hand 
by  which  he  can,  through  an  ever-increasing  debt,  keep  the 
laborer  in  his  power  forever,  the  debt  descending  from  father 
to  son.  He  can  abuse  and  beat  the  laborer  as  he  pleases,  for 
a mere  1 Indian 9 would  have  no  hope  whatever  before  the  judge 
against  so  powerful  an  opponent.” 

7.  The  existence  of  slavery  in  the  Sultanate  of  Zanzibar, 
an  English  protectorate  since  1890,  is  an  anomaly  which  is 
exciting  vigorous  discussion  in  anti-slavery  circles  in  England, 
and  the  British  Government  has  been  repeatedly  memorialized 
to  abolish  finally  the  status  of  slavery  in  Zanzibar  and  Pemba. 
The  recent  death  of  the  Sultan  and  the  attempt  at  revolution 
will  perhaps  facilitate  this  step  on  the  part  of  the  Government. 
The  importation  of  slaves  has  been  forbidden  by  treaty  since 
1872,  and  by  a decree  of  the  British  Government  all  children 
born  within  the  bounds  of  the  sultanate  after  December,  1889, 
are  free,  so  that  the  only  really  lawful  slaves  in  the  protector- 
ate at  the  present  time  are  the  survivors  of  those  imported  be- 
fore June,  1873,  or  their  children  born  before  1890.  The 
drift  of  events,  however,  has  been  to  maintain  slavery  at  about 
its  usual  standard,  since  a secret  importation,  of  an  average  of 
6,000  slaves  annually,  has  been  going  on  in  defiance  of  the 
treaty.  The  number  actually  in  bondage  in  Zanzibar  and 
Pemba  is  variously  estimated  from  140,000  by  government  of- 
ficials, to  266,000  by  Mr.  Donald  Mackenzie,  the  recent 
special  Commissioner  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Anti-Slavery 
Society  to  investigate  slavery  and  the  slave-trade  on  the  East 


THE  TRIBAL  GROUP 


83 


Coast  of  Africa.  The  effort  to  secure  from  the  Government 
the  total  abolition  of  the  recognized  status  of  slavery  in  Zanzi- 
bar is  timely,  since  the  existence  of  slavery  is  an  overwhelm- 
ing temptation  to  the  slave-trade,  and  adds  immensely  to  the 
difficulties  of  preventing  it.  In  a communication,  before  re- 
ferred to,  published  in  The  Times  (London),  June  23,  1896, 
Bishop  Tucker  of  East  Africa  urges  most  earnestly  the  im- 
mediate abolition  of  the  status  of  slavery  in  the  protectorate. 
His  letter  was  accompanied  by  a memorial,  which  was  for- 
warded to  the  Consul-General  at  Zanzibar  by  English  mission- 
aries of  East  Africa,  praying  that  the  action  suggested  might 
be  speedily  taken  by  Her  Majesty’s  Government. 

8.  Of  the  characteristic  evils  of  slavery  little  need  be  said. 
They  are  too  manifest  to  require  discussion.  Its  cruel  wounds, 
wherever  it  exists,  are  as  fresh  to-day  as  in  the  past,  and  its 
gross  scandals  are  as  pronounced  now  as  at  any  former  period. 
That  Christian  missions  have  had  an  honorable  record  in  miti- 
gating the  miseries  of  slavery  and  dealing  sturdy  blows  at  the 
abominable  traffic  in  slaves  is  a fact  to  which  we  shall  give  at- 
tention in  another  connection. 

Cannibalism. — 1.  Cannibalism  is  one  of  the  most  fiend- 
ish and  loathsome  aspects  of  social  barbarism.  It  is  a fearful 
incentive  to  the  crime  of  murder,  and  a stimulus  to  every 
bloodthirsty  passion  in  the  human  breast.  Strange  to  say,  at 
a recent  meeting  of  the  British  Association  for  the  Advance- 
ment of  Science,  at  Ipswich,  it  found  a mild  apologist  in  Mr. 
H.  A.  Thrum,  who  deprecated  its  classification  among  vices, 
and  would  regard  it  rather  as  “ a habit 99  ! Its  story  for  ages 
has  been  written  in  blood  amid  brutal  scenes  and  inhuman 
orgies.  Its  prevalence  has  probably  been  far  more  extensive 
than  the  civilized  world  has  realized.  It  is  one  of  those  hid- 
den mysteries  of  iniquity  which  even  heathenism  instinctively 
conceals.  Although  much  has  come  to  light  concerning  it, 
its  dark  secrets  will  ever  remain  as  part  of  the  unwritten  his- 
tory of  pure  savagery. 

2.  The  testimony  as  to  its  existence  in  the  past  among  de- 
graded races  is  abundant  and  cumulative,  and  need  not  be  re- 
viewed at  any  length  here.  Our  interest  in  the  subject  centres 
rather  in  the  question  of  its  existence  at  the  present  time. 
Are  we  to  regard  it  as  a relic  of  the  past,  or  must  we  consider 
it  as  still  characteristic  of  the  savage  life  of  the  world  to-day  ? 
A tendency  to  minimize  its  practice  and  make  light  of  its  ex- 


84  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


istence  has  been  manifest  in  some  quarters,  but  the  evidence 
that  it  is  still  practiced  in  our  day  in  many  of  the  haunts  of 
savagery  is  sufficient  to  justify  its  place  in  the  list  of  the  reg- 
nant evils  of  pagan  society.  Among  the  aborigines  of  Aus- 
tralia,  especially  the  Papuans  of  Queensland,  cannibal  feasts 
are  a common  occurrence,  as  Lumholtz  declares.  The  Maoris 
of  New  Zealand  were  detestable  cannibals  until  the  British 
Government  took  control  of  the  islands,  and  the  saving  touch 
of  Christianity  transformed  the  whole  social  economy  of  a 
wildly  savage  race.  In  New  Guinea}  the  Rev.  James  Chal- 
mers has  discovered  abundant  evidence  of  cannibal  practice 
of  the  most  filthy  and  barbarous  description.  He  reports  that 
it  is  the  custom  among  the  natives,  when  a man  is  shot  down, 
for  all  to  rush  upon  him  for  the  purpose  of  biting  his  nose 
clean  off  and  swallowing  it,  as  the  one  who  succeeds  in  ac- 
complishing this  feat  “ is  looked  upon  as  greater  than  the 
person  who  shot  him.”  It  is  only  a few  years  ago  that  the 
unfortunate  ship  “St.  Paul,”  with  three  hundred  and  sixty 
Chinese  passengers,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  natives.  “ They 
cooped  up  the  victims  like  animals  marked  for  slaughter,  and 
clubbed  and  cooked  so  many  every  day  till  only  four  were  left.” 
In  the  New  Hebrides  cannibal  feasts  are  still  of  frequent 
occurrence,  although  upon  several  of  the  islands  Christian 
missionary  work  has  banished  these  scenes  of  cruelty.  Among 
the  “head-hunters”  of  Formosa  a certain  fastidiousness  seems 
to  control  their  cannibal  instincts,  as  they  usually  select  such 
delicacies  as  the  brain  and  heart  for  their  feasts.  In  many  of 
the  Pacific  Islands  the  reign  of  cannibalism  has  been  long  and 
terrible,  especially  in  the  Fiji,  Plervey,  Society,  and  Marquesas 
groups.  Among  the  Fijis  in  the  early  days  of  missionary 
labors  scenes  were  witnessed  which  were  “too  horrible  to  be 
described,  too  full  of  fiendish  cruelty  to  be  imagined.”  The 
people  were  represented  as  “going  beyond  the  ordinary  limits 
of  rapine  and  bloodshed,  and  violating  the  elementary  in- 
stincts of  mankind.”  While  the  aspect  of  many  of  these 
islands  has  been  greatly  changed  by  missionary  effort  and  by 
the  controlling  power  of  civilized  governments,  yet  there  are 
dark  corners  where  the  old  customs  still  linger,  and  from 
which  the  inhumanities  of  cannibalism  have  not  wholly  disap- 
peared. In  Fiji,  however,  cannibalism  is  now  wholly  extinct, 
and  Christianity  has  fairly  illumined  the  dismal  darkness  of 
former  years. 


THE  TRIBAL  GROUP 


85 


3.  The  African  Continent  has  been  and  is  still  the  scene  of 
innumerable  cannibal  atrocities.  The  northern  and  southern 
sections  are,  however,  comparatively  free,  as  there  is  nothing 
to  report  north  of  the  Soudan  or  south  of  the  Congo  State, 
although,  according  to  Dr.  Liengme,  of  the  Romande  Mission 
in  Southeast  Africa,  Gasaland , in  Portuguese  territory,  south 
of  the  Zambesi,  is  not  free  from  the  charge  of  cannibalism. 
We  quote  his  words  as  recorded  in  the  Bulletin  Missionaire . 
The  testimony  of  the  Rev.  Josiah  Tyler,  for  many  years  a 
missionary  in  Zululand , is  to  the  effect  that  no  Zulu* speaking 
people  are  addicted  to  cannibalism,  with  the  single  exception 
of  some  tribes  living  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Tanganyika  and 
Lake  Nyassa. 

In  the  central  belt  of  the  Continent,  however,  from  the  East 
Coast  to  the  West,  especially  up  and  down  the  many  tributaries 
of  the  Congo,  cannibalism  is  still  practiced  with  every  possible 
accompaniment  of  atrocious  cruelty.  In  a paper  descriptive 
of  three  years  of  travel  in  the  extreme  easterly  regions  of  the 
Congo  State,  read  before  the  Royal  Geographical  Society  in 
London,  on  March  n,  1895,  by  Captain  S.  L.  Hinde,  of  the 
Belgian  service,  startling  details  are  given  illustrative  of  the 
ferocious  spirit  and  horrible  customs  of  some  of  the  Congo 
tribes  living  between  the  Lualaba  and  Lomami  rivers.  In  his 
descriptions  of  N’Gandu  (Gandu),  a fortified  town  on  the 
bank  of  the  Lomami  River,  he  speaks  of  four  gates  to  the 
city,  the  approach  to  which  is  in  each  case  a pavement  of 
human  skulls.  He  counted  more  than  two  thousand  skulls  in 
the  pavement  of  one  gate  alone.  The  stakes  forming  the  en- 
trenchment around  the  town  were  crowned  with  skulls.  These 
skulls  were  largely  relics  of  cannibal  practices.  He  speaks  of 
a slave-raider  who  had  gathered  together  about  ten  thousand 
cannibal  brigands.  He  recounts,  among  incidental  illustra- 
tions of  native  barbarity,  the  death  of  a chief  a short  time 
previous  to  his  visit,  into  whose  grave  one  hundred  men  were 
thrown,  having  previously  been  killed.  Upon  these  the  chiefs 
body  was  laid,  and  over  it  were  thrown  one  hundred  live 
women  and  the  grave  closed  upon  them.  Over  this  mausoleum 
a magnificent  house  was  built.  Other  details,  referring  more 
especially  to  cannibalism,  are  given.  A French  explorer 
named  De  Poumayrac,  who  ascended  the  Mobangi,  a tributary 
of  the  Congo,  in  1892,  was  attacked  by  members  of  a canni- 
bal tribe  and  murdered  with  many  of  his  party.  The  occasion 


86  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


was  celebrated  by  a cannibal  feast.  The  Ngombes,  who  oc- 
cupy a long  strip  of  land  between  the  Lopori  and  Congo 
rivers,  are  all  fierce  cannibals,  and  are  the  terror  of  neighbor- 
ing tribes.  Mr.  Vincent  presents  the  same  testimony  in  his 
chapter  on  the  Congo  Free  State.  Similar  statements  have 
been  made  concerning  the  Babus,  Bangelas,  Balubas,  and 
Malelas,  all  tribes  of  the  Congo.  Mr.  Dorsey  Mohun , a 
United  States  commercial  agent  and  an  associate  of  Captain 
Hinde  in  his  travels  in  Eastern  Congo,  who  has  resided  two 
years  in  the  Congo  Free  State,  reports  it  as  his  judgment  that 
there  are  not  less  than  twenty  million  cannibals  at  the  present 
time  in  that  State.  He  speaks  of  surprising  a village  one  day 
in  the  midst  of  a cannibal  feast,  and  of  witnessing  the  funeral 
of  a great  chief  and  the  burial  alive  of  fourteen  persons  in  the 
grave  with  his  dead  body. 

The  whole  West  Coast  north  of  the  equator , as  far  as  the 
Upper  Niger,  if  we  penetrate  the  Continent  but  a short  dis- 
tance from  the  sea,  seems  to  be  alive  with  cannibals.  In 
November,  1895,  Miss  Kingsley,  the  niece  of  the  late  Charles 
Kingsley,  returned  to  England  from  a visit  to  the  West  Coast 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  Gaboon  River.  She  explored  the  Ogowe 
for  a distance  of  two  hundred  and  six  miles,  and  during  her 
journey  through  the  country  of  the  Fang  tribe  encountered 
cannibalism  in  the  shape  of  a determined  purpose  to  kill  and 
eat  some  of  her  attendants,  who  were  members  of  a hostile 
tribe.  The  Fangs  are  one  of  the  few  tribes  in  Africa  who  eat 
their  own  dead.  She  reports  that  she  found  no  burial-places, 
but  in  most  of  the  native  mud  huts  pieces  of  human  bodies 
were  being  kept  just  as  civilized  people  keep  eatables  in  their 
larders.  Similar  statements  as  to  the  cannibal  habits  of  the 
Fangs  are  made  by  the  Rev.  W.  S.  Bannerman,  of  the  Ga- 
boon Mission  of  the  American  Presbyterians. 

A missionary  explorer,  the  Rev.  F.  Autenrieth,  of  the  Basel 
Mission,  has  recently  made  an  extensive  journey  back  of  the 
German  colony  of  Cameroons,  into  the  interior  range  of  the 
great  Cameroons  Mountains , and  penetrated  into  regions 
where  no  white  man  had  previously  been.  He  reports  that  the 
country  he  explored  is  inhabited  by  cannibals,  and  that  he 
himself,  without  his  knowledge  at  the  time,  was  condemned  to 
be  killed  and  eaten,  but  fortunately  escaped  the  fate  assigned 
him.  Proceeding  still  farther  north  to  the  delta  of  the  Niger 
and  the  immense  region  which  forms  its  hinterlandy  we  find 


A Communion  Scene  at  Banza  Manteka. 

The  assembled  native  converts,  with  few  exceptions,  were  formerly  savage  cannibals. 


The  first  Christian  Endeavor  Society  in  the  Congo  Valley. 

New  Scenes  anp  Faces  on  the  Congo, 


THE  TRIBAL  GROUP 


87 


abundant  evidence  in  the  reports  of  Government  officials, 
recent  explorers,  and  resident  missionaries  to  confirm  the 
statement  that  the  reign  of  cannibalism  is  almost  undisturbed, 
except  in  regions  under  the  immediate  control  of  European 
administration.  A report  of  Sir  Claude  Macdonald,  in  1893, 
upon  the  state  of  affairs  in  the  Oil  Rivers  Protectorate,  speaks 
of  cannibals  who  inhabit  the  banks  of  the  Cross  River.  The 
report  of  Sir  John  Kirk  on  the  recent  disturbances  at  Brass,  in 
the  Niger  Coast  Protectorate,  speaks  of  the  murder  of  prison- 
ers by  the  natives,  and  the  cannibalism  of  the  people.  Their 
excuse  for  such  conduct  was  that  it  was  their  custom  under 
such  circumstances  to  kill  and  eat  their  captives. 

The  writings  of  the  late  Bishop  Crowther  contain  state- 
ments to  the  same  effect.  He  says  : ‘ ‘ Cannibalism  prevails 
to  a very  great  extent  among  the  tribes  from  the  delta  to  the 
regions  of  the  Lower  Niger,  for  instance,  as  among  the  people 
of  Okrika,  by  whom  one  hundred  and  fifty  prisoners  taken 
from  the  opposite  shore  were  divided  among  the  chiefs  to  be 
killed  and  eaten.  With  the  exception  of  eleven  which  fell  to 
the  lot  of  the  church-goer  chiefs,  who  took  care  of  their  share 
and  spared  them,  the  one  hundred  and  thirty-nine  remaining 
prisoners,  which  were  divided  among  the  heathen  chiefs  and 
people,  were  killed  and  eaten.”  A letter  from  the  Rev . E . 
Deas,  of  the  United  Presbyterian  Mission  to  Old  Calabar,  re- 
counting the  state  of  things  in  that  region,  refers  to  the  ex- 
istence of  cannibal  markets  where  slaves  are  sold  for  food. 
He  himself  had  quite  recently  saved  two  sick  women  from 
being  eaten  by  their  fellow-creatures.  The  Katholische  Mis - 
sionen  of  Freiburg,  in  a recent  account  of  a journey  made  in 
T^95  by  Father ' Bubendorf , of  the  Congregation  of  the  Holy 
Cross,  from  Onitsha  (on  the  Niger)  to  a neighboring  district, 
reports  his  statement  that  he  was  a horrified  eye-witness  of  the 
slaughter  of  a group  of  unfortunate  captives  before  a king’s 
dwelling.  He  writes:  “ Every  moment  men,  women,  and 

even  children,  passed  me,  one  with  a human  leg  on  his  shoul- 
der, others  carrying  the  lungs  or  the  heart  of  an  unfortunate 
Kroo  boy  in  their  hands.  Several  times  I was  offered  my 
choice  of  these  morsels  dripping  with  gore.” 

Several  communications  in  the  English  papers  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1895  reported  the  atrocities  committed  by  an  African 
band  in  the  region  of  Sierra  Leone,  known  as  the  “Human 
Leopards .”  Several  of  them  have  been  captured  and  exe- 


83  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


cuted.  They  were  accustomed  to  clothe  themselves  in  leopard 
skins,  attack  their  victim  from  behind,  and  stab  him  with  a 
three-pronged  dagger.  The  result  was  a cannibal  feast. 

A correspondent  of  The  Saturday  Review , referring  to  the 
recent  trial  of  members  of  this  band,  calls  attention  to  the 
difference  in  method  of  cannibalism  on  the  West  Coast  from 
that  which  prevails  on  the  East  Coast.  In  West  Africa  the 
custom  is  to  have  the  barbaric  feast  follow  immediately  the 
slaughter  of  the  victims.  On  the  East  Coast  an  element  of 
domestic  economy  seems  to  pervade  cannibal  customs,  since 
the  flesh  of  the  old,  the  infirm,  and  the  useless  is  dried  and 
preserved,  with  a sort  of  sacramental  reverence,  in  the  family 
larder.  It  is  offered  to  guests  as  a special  compliment,  to  re- 
fuse which  would  be  a deadly  insult,  while  its  acceptance  se- 
cures friendship.  The  correspondent  remarks:  * ‘Many  of  our 
travellers  in  East  Africa  have  eaten  thus  sacramentally  of  the 
ancestors  of  some  dark-skinned  potentate.0  He  refers  to  the 
cannibalism  of  the  West  Coast,  however,  as  the  refinement  of 
gluttony,  based  upon  a hideously  genuine  appetite  for  fresh 
human  flesh.  “ Young  boys  are  bought  from  the  dark  inte- 
rior, kept  in  pens,  fattened  upon  bananas,  and  finally  killed 
and  baked.0 

4.  A singular  confirmation  of  these  statements  concerning 
cannibalism  on  the  West  Coast  comes  from  another  part  of 
the  earth,  where  some  of  the  West  Coast  superstitions  have 
been  transplanted  in  connection  with  the  slave-trade.  In 
Hayti  the  so-called  vaudoux  worship  is  still  found  among  the 
secret  practices  of  the  Negroes.  It  is  marked  by  the  adora- 
tion of  the  serpent,  and  attended  with  the  sacrifice  of  children 
and  feasting  upon  their  flesh.  An  abominable  trade  in  human 
flesh  for  cannibal  feasts,  and  cannibalism  as  a revolting  luxury 
among  natives,  are  still  dark  features  of  inland  life  upon  the 
island.  Froude  remarks  in  this  connection:  “ Behind  the 
immorality,  behind  the  religiosity,  there  lies  active  and  alive 
the  horrible  revival  of  West  African  superstition : the  serpent 
worship,  the  child  sacrifice,  and  the  cannibalism.0 

Human  Sacrifices. — 1.  The  grim  tyranny  of  superstition 
has  exacted  the  sacrifice  of  human  life  among  many  savage 
races.  Different  motives  have  inspired  the  crime,  and  it  has 
been  justified  by  its  perpetrators  either  as  a tribute  to  the  dig- 
nity and  station  of  some  person  of  distinction  who  has  died, 
or  as  a necessary  propitiation  offered  to  some  object  of  wor- 


THE  TRIBAL  GROUP 


89 


ship,  under  the  inspiration  of  fear,  or  with  a desire  to  placate. 
It  is  also  frequently  resorted  to  as  a supposed  means  of  secur- 
ing successful  harvests,  or  victories  in  warfare,  or  hoped-for 
success  in  connection  with  any  new  undertaking.  It  is  often 
considered  an  essential  part  of  the  observance  of  festival  occa- 
sions, or  an  indispensable  feature  of  the  ceremonial  etiquette 
of  savagery.  The  ghastly  realism  of  the  scene  appeals  in  a 
vivid  way  to  the  native  imagination. 

2.  In  many  sections  of  the  earth  the  practice  has  been 
greatly  checked  within  a century.  “Previous  to  the  year 
1837, ” writes  the  Rev.  T.  E.  Slater  (London  Missionary  So- 
ciety), “about  one  hundred  and  fifty  human  sacrifices  were 
annually  offered  in  Gumsur,”  a city  situated  in  East  Central 
India.  The  Rev.  James  M.  Macphail  (Free  Church  of  Scotland) 
writes  that  “human  sacrifice  existed  among  the  Santals  until 
quite  recently.  ” There  are  many  localities  in  India  where 
the  traditions  of  human  sacrifices,  in  some  instances  as  a daily 
event,  still  linger,  especially  among  the  Rajputs,  the  Khonds, 
and  in  the  Northern  Punjab.  In  many  of  the  Indian  temples 
the  very  odor  of  human  sacrifice  seems  to  be  still  present. 
The  whole  subject  has  been  carefully  investigated  by  Dr. 
Rajendralala  Mitra,  a distinguished  modern  scholar  of  India, 
who  published  the  result  of  his  researches  in  The  Journal  of 
the  Asiatic  Society  of  Bengal.  In  reply  to  the  contention  that 
human  sacrifices  are  not  authorized  in  the  Vedas,  but  were  in- 
troduced in  later  times,  Dr.  Mitra  remarks:  “ As  a Hindu 
writing  on  the  actions  of  my  forefathers — remote  as  they  are — 
it  would  have  been  a source  of  great  satisfaction  to  me  if  I 
could  adopt  this  conclusion  as  true,  but  I regret  that  I cannot 
do  so  consistently  with  my  allegiance  to  the  cause  of  history.” 
He  brings  forward  abundant  evidence  from  Indian  sources  to 
show  that  “ for  a long  time  the  rite  was  common  all  over  Hin- 
dustan, and  persons  are  not  wanting  who  suspect  that  there 
are  still  nooks  and  corners  in  India  where  human  victims  are 
occasionally  slaughtered  for  the  gratification  of  the  Devi.”  In 
a learned  article  on  “ The  Brahmanas  of  the  Vedas/’  by  K. 
S.  Macdonald,  D.  D.,  published  in  The  Indian  Evangelical 
Review , the  references  to  human  sacrifices  in  the  Vedas  are 
given  in  exhaustive  detail.  In  the  case  of  one  hundred  and 
seventy-nine  different  gods  the  particular  kind  of  human  being 
who  should  be  sacrificed  is  named  in  each  instance. 

In  Assam  not  long  since  children  were  offered  as  a sacrifice 


90  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


for  the  forgiveness  of  sins.  Among  the  Shans  a belief  in  the 
efficacy  of  human  sacrifice  to  procure  a good  harvest  still 
exists.  It  is  supposed  by  them  that  certain  nats  (spirits)  are 
appeased  only  by  human  sacrifice.  4 ‘ The  guardian  spirit  of 
one  of  the  Salween  ferries  claims  a victim  every  year,  prefer- 
ably a Chinaman.  The  nat  saves  trouble  by  capsizing  a boat 
and  securing  his  victim.  The  ferry  is  then  safe  for  the  rest  of 
the  year.”  Mr.  J.  George  Scott,  in  an  article  on  “The  Wild 
Wa  : A Head-Hunting  Race,”  presents  many  illustrations  of 
the  abominable  atrocities  long  prevalent  among  the  tribes  in 
the  border-lands  between  the  Shan  tribes  and  Yunnan. 

3.  Among  some  of  the  aborigines  of  Australia  the  custom 
is  said  still  to  prevail  that  in  the  case  of  the  death  of  any 
member  of  a given  tribe  his  fellow-tribesmen  are  thereby 
placed  under  obligations  to  kill  some  one  else  in  the  next 
tribe,  to  equalize  matters.  Among  the  Dyaks  of  Borneo  and 
the  mountain  tribes  of  Formosa  human  sacrifices  have  been 
common,  and  are  even  at  the  present  time  resorted  to  in 
connection  with  public  events,  such  as  the  proclamation  of 
war. 

4.  In  the  history  of  the  Pacific  Islands  there  are  many 
traces  of  the  bloody  rites  of  human  sacrifices.  They  were 
known  among  the  Maoris,  and  in  the  New  Hebrides,  and  al- 
most universally  throughout  Polynesia.  In  the  early  chroni- 
cles of  South  Sea  missions  are  repeated  references  to  the  cus- 
tom. Worship  was  frequently  attended  with  the  sacrifice  of 
life.  It  is  recorded  of  King  Pomare  of  the  Society  Islands 
that  “during  his  reign  of  thirty  years  he  had  sacrificed  two 
thousand  human  victims  as  offerings  to  his  idols.”  Upon  al- 
most every  public  occasion  a human  sacrifice  was  required. 
If  war  was  to  be  declared  or  some  chief  died  or  was  threat- 
ened with  serious  illness ; if  some  public  building  was  to  be 
dedicated  or  even  a new  house  built  for  a chief ; if  a new 
idol  was  to  be  set  up  or  a new  canoe  launched,  the  blood  of 
some  human  victim,  or  in  some  instances  of  many  such,  must 
be  offered  in  honor  of  the  occasion.  The  horrible  reputation 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Fiji  Islands  for  every  species  of 
brutality  and  cruelty  makes  it  easy  to  believe  that  their  record 
for  human  sacrifices  is  one  of  exceptional  atrocity. 

5.  Among  the  aborigines  of  the  West  Indies  and  the  pagan 
Indians  of  Guiana  there  is  clear  evidence  of  this  odious 
crime.  And  even  at  the  present  time,  according  to  the  state- 


THE  TRIBAL  GROUP 


91 


ment  of  Dr.  Sheldon  Jackson,  the  people  of  Alaska , during 
an  epidemic  of  the  grippe,  “ felt  that  a more  malignant  spirit 
than  common  had  got  hold  of  them,  and  they  must  needs 
make  greater  sacrifices;  so  men,  women,  and  children  were 
caught  by  the  medicine-men  and  sacrificed — buried  alive  to 
appease  the  spirit  of  the  grippe. ” 

6.  The  darkest  record  of  all,  however,  is  reserved  for 
Africa,  where  rivers  of  blood  have  been  poured  out  in  human 
sacrifice.  The  almost  universal  practice  in  connection  with 
the  death  of  African  chieftains  is  a bloody  holocaust  at  the 
burial.  Cameron,  in  an  account  of  his  journey  across  the 
Continent  in  1874,  speaks  of  “ the  atrocious  sanguinary  rites 
which  attend  the  death  of  African  despots.”  The  resting- 
place  of  a chieftain’s  body  is  often  a bed  of  living  women, 
and  his  grave  deeply  saturated  with  the  blood  of  victims  slain 
in  his  honor.  Ashanti,  Dahomey,  and  the  whole  Niger  delta 
with  its  tributaries  have  witnessed  many  a scene  of  sacrificial 
horror.  The  reports  of  English  correspondents  who  accom- 
panied the  recent  Ashanti  expedition  of  the  British  Govern- 
ment, speak  of  hideous  masses  of  bones  and  skulls  of  the 
victims  of  human  sacrifice.  An  editorial  in  the  London  Times, 
November  13,  1895,  referring  to  the  fact  that  the  ruler  of 
Ashanti  had  expressly  agreed  by  treaty  to  renounce  human 
sacrifices  and  slave-raids,  states  that  “ it  is  notorious  that  these 
savage  processes  still  continue.” 

In  a chapter  on  the  “ City  of  Blood,'  in  the  life  of  Thomas 
Birch  Freeman,  an  account  is  given,  based  upon  the  testimony 
of  missionaries  who  were  present  at  the  time,  of  the  funeral 
ceremonies  attending  the  death  of  a king,  at  which  forty  vic- 
tims were  immolated  within  two  days,  and  the  streets  strewn 
with  headless  bodies.  The  ground  around  fetich  trees  was  wet 
with  the  blood  of  victims,  while  from  their  branches  were 
suspended  portions  of  human  bodies.  In  the  early  history  of 
the  United  Presbyterian  Mission  in  Old  Calabar  are  accounts 
of  the  same  shocking  scenes.  On  the  death  of  Eyamba,  a 
native  king,  a massacre  of  his  wives  and  slaves,  and  even  of 
many  other  women,  took  place  ; of  his  hundred  wives,  thirty 
were  slaughtered.  Even  late  reports  from  these  dark  regions 
bear  the  same  story  of  unabated  bloodshed.  The  Ijebus  have 
recently  sacrificed  two  hundred  and  fifty  victims  to  their  gods, 
in  order  to  prevent  the  white  man  from  taking  their  country. 
The  king  of  Eboe,  at  his  death  in  1893,  was  accompanied  by 


92  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


forty  sacrificial  victims.  The  late  Rev.  J.  Vernall  wrote  from 
the  Yoruba  Mission  to  the  Church  Missionary  Society  that 
human  sacrifices  were  offered  in  honor  of  the  dead  body  of 
the  head  chief,  Sasere,  in  1893.  The  late  Bishop  Crowther, 
a native  African  in  connection  with  the  Church  Missionary 
Society,  often  testified  to  the  existence  of  these  cruel  practices 
in  the  valley  of  the  Niger. 

The  Congo  contributes  its  full  quota  of  gruesome  evidence. 
United  States  Commercial  Agent  Dorsey  Mohun,  in  his  recent 
Report  to  Congress,  states  that  he  was  an  eye-witness  to  the 
tragic  death  of  fourteen  persons  who  were  buried  alive  in 
honor  of  a great  chief  who  had  died.  Dr.  W.  H.  Leslie,  a 
missionary  of  the  American  Baptist  Missionary  Union,  located 
upon  the  Congo,  states  that  a native  chief  presented  himself 
for  professional  treatment  whose  hand  was  so  shockingly  dis- 
eased  that  at  first  he  thought  it  would  have  to  be  amputated, 
but  by  powerful  remedies  he  succeeded  in  saving  all  but  a 
small  portion  of  it.  The  chief  remarked  to  the  doctor  that 
“thirty  of  his  subjects  had  been  put  to  death  at  different 
times  because  he  thought  they  were  eating  it. ” “ At  Luken- 

go's  royal  city''  writes  Dr.  Snyder,  of  the  Southern  Presby- 
terian Church  Mission  on  the  Congo,  “there  is  being  enacted 
a horrible  tragedy.  The  brother  of  the  king  is  lying  dead 
wrapped  in  cloth,  under  a shed,  and,  what  is  more,  he  has 
lain  there  for  two  months.  And  why  ? Because  they  have 
not  caught  and  killed  enough  people  to  satisfy  the  demands  of 
their  diabolical  superstition.  They  have  killed  one  hundred, 
and  are  now  trying  to  catch  one  hundred  more.” 

In  Uganda,  according  to  the  statement  of  Mr.  Ashe,  King 
Mtesa  confessed  that  “before  the  coming  of  white  men  to  his 
country  he  had  practiced  the  horrid  rites  of  the  kiwendo , 
when  thousands  of  victims  were  ruthlessly  slaughtered  in  the 
performance  of  the  sanguinary  rites  of  Uganda.  It  was  said 
that  when  Mtesa  rebuilt  his  father  Suna’s  tomb,  the  throats  of 
two  thousand  unhappy  human  victims  were  cut  at  the  dead 
king’s  grave.”  In  Abyssinia , according  to  Macdonald,  “ hu- 
man sacrifices  to  their  divinities  are  common  among  the  peo- 
ple of  Senjero.”  In  Southern  Africa  the  Kaffirs  (those  tribes 
south  of  the  Zambesi)  and  the  Zulus,  even  in  recent  times, 
have  been  guilty  of  the  same  unspeakable  atrocities,  as  Dr. 
Tyler  and  Dr.  Emil  Holub  testify. 

The  world’s  barbarism  is  by  no  means  ended.  In  some  of 


THE  TRIBAL  GROUP 


93 


its  fairest  regions  the  passions  of  demons  seem  to  rage  in  the 
human  breast. 

Cruel  Ordeals. — i.  In  most  instances  the  ordeals  which 
involve  physical  torment  or  exposure  to  death  are  resorted  to 
with  a view  of  testing  and  so  discovering  the  innocence  or 
guilt  of  some  suspected  person.  These  ghastly  trials  have 
been  widely  known  in  the  world  in  various  forms.  The  ordeal 
has  been  sometimes  by  fire  or,  again,  by  water  or  by  the  use 
of  poisons  or  through  personal  encounter.  Torture  has  also 
been  employed  to  ascertain  if  the  consciousness  of  guilt  will 
bear  the  test.  The  peculiar  horror  which  attaches  to  this  cus- 
tom is  the  probability  in  numberless  instances  of  putting  an 
absolutely  innocent  person  to  death,  and  in  any  case,  of  sub- 
jecting the  victim  to  excruciating  torture. 

2.  Among  the  Ainu  of  Northern  Japan  various  barbarous 
expedients  have  prevailed  to  secure  confession  where  a crime 
was  suspected.  One  was  the  hot- water  ordeal,  which  was 
practiced  in  two  ways.  According  to  one  method,  the  victim 
was  placed  in  an  immense  caldron  of  cold  water,  under  which 
a blazing  fire  was  kindled,  and  was  kept  there  until  the  suffer- 
ing was  so  intense  that  a confession  was  extorted.  This  severe 
test,  however,  was  not  common  unless  the  evidence  of  guilt 
was  strong.  Still  another  method  was  compelling  the  accused 
person  to  thrust  an  arm  into  a pan  of  boiling  water.  If  the 
test  was  refused  it  was  regarded  as  indicative  of  guilt ; or  if 
accepted  and  the  result  was  a severe  scalding,  this  also  was 
supposed  to  be  evidence  against  the  accused  person.  Only  in 
case  the  flesh  was  uninjured  was  the  innocence  fully  demon- 
strated. Other  expedients  were  by  grasping  hot  iron,  or  a hot 
stone  held  in  the  palm  of  the  hand.  Still  another,  which  was 
especially  a favorite  in  the  case  of  testing  the  guilt  or  inno- 
cence of  women,  was  to  make  them  smoke  an  unusual  quan- 
tity of  tobacco  and  then  drink  the  ashes  of  the  weed.  If 
made  ill  they  were  guilty ; if  not,  their  innocence  was  estab- 
lished. A more  innocent  trial  was  affected  by  causing  a per- 
son to  drink  a cup  of  water  and  then  throw  the  empty  cup  be- 
hind him  over  his  head.  If  the  cup  fell  the  right  way  upward 
innocence  was  demonstrated  ; if  otherwise,  guilt  was  regarded 
as  manifest.  Another  singular  trial  consisted  of  seating  the 
person  before  a large  tub  of  water  with  his  mouth  placed  to  it 
in  such  a way  that  he  must  drink  continuously  until  it  was  all 
gone.  This  process  perhaps  does  not  seem  very  terrifying, 


94  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


but  in  reality  it  involved  intense  pain.  If  the  water  was  all 
drank  the  person  was  innocent,  but  if  he  gave  up  the  attempt 
it  was  an  indication  of  guilt.  The  stake  ordeal,  hanging  by 
the  hair,  and  beating  were  also  resorted  to.  In  China  confes- 
sion is  often  extorted  by  processes  of  ingenious  and  frightful 
torture.  The  diabolical  versatility  of  the  Chinese  in  this  re- 
spect is  notorious. 

3.  In  India  festivals  are  sometimes  the  scenes  of  ordeals 
by  passing  through  fire  to  exhibit  fortitude  and  devotion  in 
evidence  of  the  religious  sincerity  of  devotees.  Among  some 
of  the  native  tribes,  as,  for  example,  the  Mairs  and  Kois,  it 
was  customary  to  challenge  one  accused  to  prove  his  innocence 
by  thrusting  his  hand  into  boiling  oil  or  by  grasping  red-hot 
shot.  In  case  any  one  among  the  Kois  died  a natural  death  it 
was  considered  to  be  the  result  of  the  machinations  of  some 
enemy,  and  when  the  most  likely  person  was  settled  upon,  the 
corpse  of  the  deceased  was  brought  into  his  presence,  and  he 
was  called  upon  to  demonstrate  his  innocence  by  undergoing 
the  ordeal  of  thrusting  his  hand  into  boiling  oil  or  water.  In 
Siam  and  neighboring  countries  the  trial  by  ordeal  has  long 
been  known.  The  tests  were  similar  to  those  already  men- 
tioned, though  several  of  them  were  of  exceptional  cruelty. 
The  interest  in  the  subject  at  present  is  happily  only  historical, 
as  the  tests  are  not  now  practiced.  In  Madagascar  the  ordeal 
by  poison,  or  the  use  of  tangena , was  formerly  shamefully  fre- 
quent. One  out  of  every  ten  of  the  people,  it  has  been  com- 
puted, has  been  subjected  to  it,  and  half  of  the  victims  have 
died.  According  to  the  Rev.  W.  Ellis,  “ three  thousand  peo- 
ple perished  every  year  a sacrifice  to  this  superstition,  for  the 
belief,  of  course,  was  that  while  innocent  people  survived  the 
ordeal,  it  invariably  proved  fatal  to  the  guilty. M 

4.  Africa  has  the  melancholy  distinction  of  continuing 
these  practices,  although  in  sections  of  the  Continent  under 
the  control  of  European  administration  such  cases  are  now 
usually  the  subject  of  judicial  investigation.  In  former  times 
in  Old  Calabar  the  death  of  a chief  was  supposed  to  be 
because  he  was  bewitched  by  some  one.  The  suspected  per- 
sons would  be  at  once  subject  to  the  ordeal  of  drinking  the 
powdered  esere-bean,  on  the  supposition  that  if  guilty  they 
would  retain  it  and  die;  if  innocent,  they  would  be  relieved 
of  it  and  survive.  The  result  was  usually  the  death  of  the 
victims.  Other  grim  variations  in  different  sections  of  the 


THE  TRIBAL  GROUP 


95 


Continent  are  mwave-drinking  in  Nyassaland,  reported  as  late 
as  1893,  by  Livingstonia  missionaries  of  the  Free  Church  of 
Scotland  and  mentioned  also  in  a private  letter  from  Dr.  Laws, 
dated  May  3,  1895,  and  the  test  of  thrusting  the  hand  into 
boiling  water.  In  the  latter  case  if  the  skin  comes  off  the  guilt 
is  demonstrated,  and  the  victim  is  then  cut  to  pieces  and 
burned.  These  superstitious  customs  have  become  to  such  an 
extent  a part  of  the  social  code  of  savagery  that  nothing  short 
of  legal  restriction  backed  by  force  can  uproot  them,  except 
the  enlightened  teachings  of  Christianity.  In  the  islands  of 
the  Pacific  these  strange  and  fiery  ordeals  have  always  been 
prevalent,  but  great  changes  have  taken  place  in  native  cus- 
toms on  many  of  the  islands  since  the  entrance  of  Christian 
missions. 

Cruel  Punishments  and  Torture. — 1.  The  just  and 
proper  method  of  inflicting  punishment  upon  the  guilty  is  a 
subject  of  great  sociological  interest,  and  has  engaged  the 
earnest  thought  and  taxed  the  practical  wisdom  of  distinguished 
modern  reformers.  Notable  changes  have  been  introduced  in 
present-day  penology,  and  it  is  one  of  the  humane  triumphs 
of  Christian  civilization  that  the  old  barbarities  in  the  treat- 
ment of  criminals  have  almost  wholly  disappeared  within  the 
bounds  of  Christendom.  A succinct  sketch  of  the  cruel  aspects 
of  early  judicial  procedure,  and  of  the  processes  of  intimidation 
and  torture  which  were  not  unknown  even  in  the  most  cultured 
nations  of  the  world  until  within  a recent  period,  is  given  by 
Dr.  Frederick  Howard  Wines  in  his  interesting  volume  on  the 
punishment  of  criminals.  One  is  impressed,  in  reading  that 
harrowing  record,  with  the  immense  progress  which  is  mani- 
fest in  the  humane  transformations  which  distinguish  the 
present  system  from  the  old.  He  is  also,  alas  ! reminded  that 
there  has  been  little  improvement  among  the  uncivilized 
peoples  of  the  earth  in  respect  to  these  penal  cruelties,  since 
the  same  horrid  methods  of  inflicting  punishment  and  tortur- 
ing criminals  are  still  practiced  in  many  barbarous  com- 
munities. A punishment  may  be  pronounced  cruel  when  it  is 
unjustly  severe,  or  inflicts  excessive  suffering,  or  is  administered 
with  barbarous  torture,  without  legal  sanction  or  restraint,  as 
the  whim  or  passion  of  the  one  in  authority  may  dictate.  That 
all  this  is  true  of  much  of  the  punishment  which  is  practiced  in 
the  non-Christian  world  is  a fact  beyond  question. 

2.  To  begin  with  Western  Asia,  it  is  a notorious  fact  that 


96  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON- CHRISTIAN  WORLD 

Turkey — the  land  which  is  even  now  the  scene  of  such  un- 
paralleled atrocities — is  full  of  dismal  cruelties  to  those  who  fall 
under  the  ban  of  the  law.  This  state  of  things  pertains  in  a 
measure  to  all  prisoners,  but  chiefly  to  non-Moslems  who,  per- 
haps most  unjustly,  fall  under  penal  condemnation.  Turkish 
prisons  are  horrible  beyond  description,  and  the  treatment  of 
prisoners  is  most  inhuman.  Shocking  torture  is  not  un- 
frequently  inflicted  to  extract  information  or  to  serve  some 
secret  purpose  of  the  authorities.  The  accounts  of  the  recent 
massacres  in  Armenia,  which  have  been  spread  before  the 
world  by  reliable  correspondents  and  by  official  reports, 
reveal  what  Turks  and  Kurds  are  capable  of  in  the  line  of 
diabolical  cruelty.  An  incident  reported  by  Mr.  Donald  Mac- 
kenzie, special  Commissioner  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Anti- 
Slavery  Society,  which  fell  under  his  own  observation  at 
Hodeidah,  illustrates  the  awful  possibilities  of  cruelty  in  a land 
of  irresponsible  power  like  Arabia. 

In  Persia  methods  of  punishment  involving  excruciating 
torture  are  resorted  to,  as  illustrated  articles  in  The  New  York 
Tribune  of  May  io,  1896,  and  The  Graphic  (London)  cf 
August  15,  1896,  recount  in  detail.  The  latter  article,  repro- 
duced in  The  New  York  Tribune  of  August  30th,  gives  an 
account  by  an  eye-witness  who  succeeded  in  obtaining  a 
photograph  of  the  scene,  describing  the  burial  alive  of  five 
prisoners  in  a preparation  of  plaster  of  Paris,  so  placed  as  to 
enclose  the  body  up  to  the  chin — a method  of  execution  which 
is  attended  with  intense  suffering,  as  the  plaster  soon  swells, 
hardens,  and  stops  the  circulation.  In  this  instance  the 
victims  were  selected  from  the  prisoners  in  the  jail  at  Shiraz, 
and  were  put  to  death  not  because  of  their  personal  guilt,  but 
as  an  example  to  strike  terror  into  the  hearts  of  the  population 
and  put  a stop  to  pillage  and  robbery  in  the  province,  the 
actual  perpetrators  of  which  the  authorities  were  not  able  to 
secure.  The  bastinado,  and  mutilation  of  the  person,  with 
other  ingenious  devices  for  inflicting  suffering,  are  character- 
istic features  of  penal  administration  throughout  Persia.  It  is 
reported  of  the  late  Shah  that  his  method  of  punishing  some 
obstinate  subjects  of  his  realm  who  tampered  with  the  tele- 
graph-wires when  they  were  first  introduced  into  Persia,  was 
to  bury  the  offenders  alive,  one  at  the  base  of  each  telegraph- 
pole,  as  a hint  that  he  would  allow  no  trifling  with  his  admin- 
istration and  no  opposition  to  his  will.  In  Central  Asia  the 


THE  TRIBAL  GROUP 


97 


prisons  are  described  as  inexpressibly  foul,  and  imprisonment 
is  apt  to  be  attended  with  dismal  tortures.  In  Afghanistan 
there  are  characteristic  cruelties  of  penal  discipline,  to  which 
reference  has  been  made  by  a recent  correspondent  of  the 
London  Tunes. 

3.  In  India  the  police  administration  has  always  been  char- 
acterized by  cruelties  which  even  British  administration  has 
not  been  able  wholly  to  stamp  out.  In  a report  of  the  com- 
missioners for  the  investigation  of  alleged  cases  of  torture  in 
the  Madras  Presidency  in  1855,  subject  is  dealt  with  in 
considerable  detail,  and  aggravated  instances  of  cruelty  on  the 
part  of  the  police  are  brought  to  light.  The  punishment  even 
of  school-children  used  to  be  a species  of  torture.  Many  of 
the  penalties  recommended  in  the  Code  of  Manu  are  abomina- 
ble in  character,  especially  those  connected  with  violations  of 
the  proprieties  of  caste.  Under  British  administration  a 
changed  state  of  things  exists,  although  the  shooting  of  sepoys 
bound  at  the  cannon’s  mouth  by  British  soldiers  at  the  time 
of  the  mutiny  was  surely  a strange  lesson  for  a Christian  gov- 
ernment to  give  to  the  people  of  India. 

4.  The  subject  of  punishments  in  China  leads  us  into  a 
veritable  Chamber  of  Horrors,  to  which  Mr.  Norman,  in  his 
“Peoples  and  Politics  of  the  Far  East,”  has  devoted  an  entire 
chapter,  which,  with  its  illustrations,  presents  a vivid  picture 
of  these  frightful  scenes  (chap.  xv.).  In  the  Chinese  Empire 
these  things  are  not  done  in  a corner,  but  are  a recognized 
feature  of  judicial  procedure.  The  ingenuity  and  variety  of 
Chinese  tortures  have  been  fully  described  by  standard  writers 
upon  the  social  customs  of  that  strange  empire.  The  infliction 
of  torture  is  not  confined  to  the  prisoner  who  is  on  trial,  but 
the  unfortunate  witnesses  are  also  likely  to  receive  the  unwel- 
come attentions  of  the  inquisitors.  There  is  nothing  that  the 
Chinese  dread  more  than  the  law  itself  and  its  administrators. 
Even  a charge  of  wrong-doing,  however  unsubstantiated,  is 
usually  a signal  for  a series  of  painful  ordeals.  The  abomina- 
ble extremities  of  the  Chinese  system  do  not  stop  with  actual 
guilt,  but  the  relatives  of  one  who  is  under  suspicion,  es- 
pecially if  his  crime  is  proved,  are  often  regarded  as  equally 
amenable  to  the  law.  Chinese  executions  are  usually  by  be- 
heading in  public,  the  execution  ground  being  open  to  all. 
The  stroke  of  an  executioner’s  sword  is  a comparatively  mer- 
ciful proceeding ; the  prisoner  may  be  thankful  if  he  escapes 


98  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


the  process  of  lingchi,  which  is  being  cut  to  pieces  while  still 
alive.  The  prisons  of  China  are  described  as  “loathsome, 
horrible  dungeons,  the  scenes  of  cruelty  and  barbarism  too 
fearful  for  description.”  In  his  chapter  on  “ The  Absence  of 
Sympathy,”  Rev.  Arthur  Smith  refers  to  the  “ deliberate  routine 
cruelty  with  which  all  Chinese  prisoners  are  treated  who  can- 
not pay  for  their  exemption.”  In  the  Island  of  Formosa  sub- 
stantially the  same  system  has  prevailed. 

5 . In  Korea  ‘ ‘ the  vocabulary  of  torture  is  sufficiently  copious 
to  stamp  Cho-sen  as  still  a semi-civilized  nation.”  The  inven- 
tory of  its  implements  as  found  in  a court  of  justice  or  prison 
is  ghastly  in  its  suggestiveness.  Public  executions  have  always 
been  conducted  in  brutal  fashion,  and  are  often  attended  with 
excruciating  tortures  of  the  prisoners.  According  to  the  old 
law  of  the  realm,  every  member  of  a man’s  family  was  equally 
implicated  in  his  offense.  We  read  of  the  use  of  the  rack 
even  at  the  present  time.  Before  we  leave  the  Continent  of 
Asia  it  should  be  noted  that  the  Japanese,  in  comparison  with 
all  other  Asiatic  nations,  stand  in  a favorable  light  so  far  as 
the  general  charge  of  cruelty  is  concerned. 

6.  If  we  turn  to  the  Continent  of  Africa  we  enter  the  shad- 
ows of  pure  savagery,  and  a record  of  barbarities  meets  us 
which  is  appalling  to  contemplate.  The  simple  infliction  of  a 
death-penalty  becomes  a comparatively  merciful  punishment. 
It  is  well  if  an  unfortunate  prisoner  escapes  a fate  which  is  full 
of  lingering  agony  and  painful  mutilation.  In  the  “ Life  of 
Livingstone”  instances  are  given  of  the  severing  of  members 
of  a living  prisoner  for  even  trifling  offenses.  The  use  of  the 
knife  upon  the  living  victim  was  often  a barbarous  preliminary 
to  his  final  execution.  Capital  punishment  was  resorted  to  as 
a penalty  for  insignificant  offenses.  Even  speaking  unadvisedly 
was  a crime  for  which  the  lips  were  roughly  sand-papered  in  a 
way  to  produce  a painful  excoriation.  The  sufferings  of  the 
poor  slaves  throughout  Africa  make  one  of  the  most  horrible 
chapters  in  human  history.  Of  the  Awemba  it  is  reported 
that  they  have  a “ kind  of  feudal  system  and  discipline  which 
is  very  strict,  the  slightest  disobedience  being  punished  with 
loss  of  fingers  or  hands,  eyes  put  out,  ears  and  nose  cut  off. 
Often  through  mere  caprice  these  dreadful  sufferings  are  in- 
flicted, while  occasionally  the  chief  kills  a number  of  his  peo- 
ple simply  to  let  them  know  he  is  chief  and  to  keep  them  in 
constant  fear  of  him.” 


THE  TRIBAL  GROUP 


99 


The  cruelties  of  Lobengula  have  filled  a large  place 
in  recent  South  African  history.  Severing  the  nose  and 
the  ears  of  a victim  seemed  to  be  commonplace  incidents 
in  his  administration.  Among  the  Zulus , as  the  banana 
was  set  apart  for  royal  use,  if  it  was  eaten  by  an  ordinary 
person  the  death-penalty  was  promptly  inflicted,  and  the 
same  punishment  was  administered  for  theft.  Thieves  had 
their  throats  cut  or  their  eyes  extracted  or  their  hands 
and  feet  cut  off.  In  the  capital  of  Ashanti  the  mere  will  of  the 
king  inflicted  death  for  the  least  transgression  of  the  most 
whimsical  laws.  Before  the  English  missionaries  entered 
Uganda,  in  the  days  of  King  Mtesa,  executions  took  place  by 
the  hundreds  by  any  method  which  seemed  to  suit  the  fancy 
of  the  king.  Among  the  barbarous  West  Coast  tribes  the  pun- 
ishment of  wives  by  their  husbands  is  often  cruelly  painful. 
Among  the  Pondos  there  is  a punishment  which  one  can  hardly 
read  of  without  shuddering.  The  victim  is  bound  or  stretched 
upon  an  ant-hill  from  which  thousands  of  virulent  ants  emerge 
and  proceed  to  devour  him,  penetrating  nostrils,  eyes,  ears, 
and  mouth.  But  we  must  end  this  dismal  recital.  Enough 
has  been  said  to  show  that  a reign  of  cruelty  still  lingers  in  the 
earth,  and  that  there  is  a pressing  call  for  some  transforming 
lessons  from  the  Gospel  of  divine  mercy. 

Brutality  in  War. — i.  The  awful  realities  of  war  are  in 
many  instances  attended  by  unspeakable  cruelties  and  wild 
outbursts  of  brutal  passions.  Civilization  has,  however,  so  far 
asserted  itself  as  to  insist  upon  every  possible  expedient  for  al- 
leviating the  miseries  of  the  wounded  and  restraining  the  bru- 
talities incident  to  the  conflict.  The  code  governing  the  con- 
duct of  war  is  now  recognized  among  all  civilized  nations,  and 
its  humane  provisions  are  of  great  value  in  mitigating  the  hor- 
rors of  the  field,  diminishing  suffering,  securing  a proper  re- 
spect for  prisoners  and  a sufficient  recognition  of  their  neces- 
sities. With  all  that  has  been  done,  however,  to  lessen  its 
brutalities,  war,  even  in  modern  times  and  among  civilized 
nations,  is  often  attended  with  experiences  which  are  appalling 
to  the  imagination.  Even  contemporary  warfare  is  not  always 
free  from  the  charge  of  unnecessary  barbarity ; and  when  we 
consider  the  facilities  for  maiming  the  person  and  destroying 
life  which  are  now  in  use,  the  question  arises  whether  war  un- 
der modern  conditio7is  has,  after  all,  to  any  great  extent  lost 
its  ancient  terrors. 


100  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


2.  The  recent  Oriental  war  between  Japan  and  China, 
while  it  revealed,  no  doubt,  a strenuous  and  to  a marked  de- 
gree successful  effort  on  the  part  of  the  Japanese  to  banish  the 
old  traditional  savagery  of  the  Orient,  was  yet  not  without  its 
dismal  scenes  of  brutality  on  the  part  of  both  combatants. 
With  the  Japanese  such  scenes  as  were  enacted  at  Port  Arthur 
were,  however,  exceptional,  and  no  doubt  were  stimulated  by 
awful  provocation.  The  improvement  in  present  Japanese 
methods  over  those  which  prevailed  even  a generation  or  so 
ago  reveals  a remarkable  readiness  to  adopt  the  modern  code 
of  warfare. 

3.  The  Chinese,  on  the  other  hand,  exhibited  all  the  old 
ferocity  of  their  race.  Not  only  were  Japanese  prisoners  and 
wounded  combatants  who  fell  into  their  hands  made  the  vic- 
tims of  savage  torture  and  mutilation,  but  even  their  own 
wounded  were  neglected  with  shocking  inhumanity.  The 
spirit  of  Chinese  warfare  was  represented  by  the  remark  of 
a high  official  to  some  Red  Cross  agents  when  he  said,  i ‘We 
have  no  use  for  wounded  soldiers.’ ’ Statements  still  further 
illustrating  the  cold-blooded  horrors  of  Chinese  warfare  are 
given  by  Mr.  Henry  Norman  in  his  “ Peoples  and  Politics  of 
the  Far  East.”  He  remarks:  “It  must  never  be  forgotten 
that  acts  of  appalling  and  almost  incredible  barbarity  are  the 
common  accompaniment  of  all  Chinese  warfare.  If  it  were  not 
that  the  details  are  indescribable,  I could  give  a blood-curd- 
ling list  of  horrors  that  have  been  described  to  me”  (p.  86). 
In  the  same  volume  a correspondent  of  The  Times  is  quoted 
as  follows:  “The  Chinese  take  no  prisoners.  From  dead, 
wounded,  and  vanquished  alike  they  shear  off  the  heads,  mu- 
tilate them  in  various  ways,  and  string  them  together  by  a 
rope  passed  through  the  mouth  and  gullet.  The  Japanese 
troops  have  seen  these  ghastly  remnants  of  their  comrades. 
A barrelful  of  them  was  found  after  the  fight  at  Ping-Yang,  and 
among  the  horrible  trophies  was  the  head  of  a young  officer 
who  had  fallen  wounded  in  a fort  evacuated  by  General  Osh- 
ima’s  men.” 

4.  Throughout  Central  Asia , Tersaf  and  Turkey  we  find 
a state  of  things  which  is  in  horrible  rivalry  with  the  worst 
that  China  can  reveal.  The  most  atrocious  chapter  of  modern 
history  is  the  recent  story  of  Kurdish  and  Turkish  brutality  in 
Asia  Minor.  It  cannot  be  called  warfare;  it  is  rather  the 
brutal  spirit  of  fiends  gratifying  a diabolical  passion  for  blood- 


THE  TRIBAL  GROUP 


101 


shed  and  cruelty.  The  past  history  of  India,  extending  down 
even  to  the  advent  of  British  rule,  is  full  of  shocking  incidents. 
The  barbarities  of  the  great  Afghan  invasions  “ form  one  of 
the  most  appalling  tales  of  bloodshed  and  wanton  cruelty  ever 
inflicted  on  the  human  race.”  Among  the  Rajputs  it  was 
a custom  when  victory  seemed  assured  to  their  enemies  to 
slaughter  all  their  women  rather  than  permit  them  to  fall  into 
the  hands  of  the  enemy.  In  the  siege  of  Chittoor  by  the  Mo- 
hammedans it  is  recorded  that  Padmani,  the  beautiful  wife  of 
the  Rana,  and  all  the  women,  to  the  number  of  many  thou- 
sands, were  entombed  in  immense  caves,  the  mouths  of  which 
were  closed,  and  all  were  destroyed  by  fires  which  were  kin- 
dled within.  The  supremacy  of  British  rule  has  now  brought 
India  under  the  code  of  modern  warfare,  and  although  the 
tragedy  of  the  sepoy  rebellion  is  still  fresh  in  the  memory, 
and  there  is  no  guarantee  beyond  the  authority  of  British  con- 
trol that  the  old  savagery  will  not  reappear,  yet  the  present  out- 
look is  that  the  brutalities  formerly  so  prevalent  have  vanished, 
never  to  return. 

5.  In  the  northern  States  of  Africa,  especially  in  Morocco, 
the  most  sanguinary  customs  are  characteristic  of  Mohamme- 
dan warfare.  An  incident  recently  reported  in  the  London 
papers  gives  an  insight  into  the  ghastly  realities  of  war  in  that 
section.  A telegram  announced  the  arrival  at  Fez  of  a large 
consignment  of  salted  heads  that  were  being  transported  from 
Morocco  as  trophies  of  a recent  victory.  It  is  even  considered 
a merciful  proceeding  by  the  fierce  soldiery  of  Morocco  to 
bury  their  wounded  comrades  before  life  is  extinct,  so  that 
the  enemy  may  have  no  opportunity  of  mutilating  their  bodies. 
In  the  recent  Italian  campaign  with  Abyssinia  the  hands  and 
feet  of  the  wounded  were  cut  off  by  the  enemy  on  the  field  of 
battle,  and  they  were  left  to  the  mercy  of  the  vultures.  In 
the  interior  of  the  Continent  and  along  the  West  Coast  there 
is  nothing  more  terrible  than  the  scenes  of  harrowing  atrocity 
which  have  been  and  are  still  incidental  to  barbarous  strife. 
As  we  move  southward  there  is  nothing  to  relieve  the  dark 
shadows  of  brutal  warfare.  It  is  a carnival  of  cruelty  and 
beastly  savagery.  The  last  journal  of  Livingstone  contains  an 
account  of  a massacre  so  terrible  in  its  atrocity  that  it  seems 
to  have  made  an  overwhelming  impression  upon  his  mind. 
The  well-known  reputation  of  the  Matabele  warrior  has  been 
often  referred  to. 


i02  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON- CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


In  the  recent  French  war  in  Madagascar  even  a civilized 
nation  seems  to  have  been  deeply  compromised  by  the  adoption 
of  barbarous  methods  of  warfare.  The  alliance  of  the  blood- 
thirsty Sakalava  with  the  French  resulted  in  indiscriminate 
massacres  of  women  and  children  who  fell  into  their  hands. 
In  one  case,  writes  the  correspondent  of  the  London  Times , 
“ there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  Sakalava,  who  are  well 
armed,  murdered  four  hundred  women  and  children.” 

6.  The  savage  races  of  the  Pacific  are  not  a whit  less  cruel 
than  their  fellow-barbarians  of  the  Dark  Continent.  In  New 
Guinea,  the  New  Hebrides,  and  throughout  the  island  realms 
of  the  South  Seas,  the  ferocity  of  savage  warfare  has  been 
illustrated  for  unknown  generations.  Happily,  the  encroach- 
ments of  civilization,  the  spiritual  victories  of  missions,  and 
the  extension  of  foreign  authority  over  so  many  island  groups 
of  Oceania  are  influences  which  have  greatly  restrained  the 
barbarities  that  have  prevailed  in  the  past. 

Blood  Feuds. — i.  War  is  not  confined  to  nations  and 
tribes  alone,  but  sometimes  occurs  between  clans,  communities, 
villages,  families,  and  even  individuals,  who  engage  in  a kind  of 
mimic  warfare  under  the  name  of  blood  feuds.  These  have 
frequently  resulted  in  serious  and  desperate  conflicts  prolonged 
for  generations  and  involving  intense  bitterness  of  feeling, 
with  vindictive  reprisals  and  cruel  atrocities.  The  causes  of 
strife  may  differ  ; in  some  instances  it  may  spring  from  reli- 
gious hatred,  in  others  it  may  result  from  trespass  and  vio- 
lence, and  at  times  it  is  the  outcome  of  family  intrigue,  jeal- 
ousy, and  enmity. 

2.  The  Continent  of  Africa  is  all  astir  with  these  virulent 
feuds;  tribes,  communities,  and  families  are  in  numberless 
instances  pitted  against  one  another  in  irreconcilable  strife. 
Now  it  is  a feud  between  neighboring  villages,  which  means 
indiscriminate  war  to  the  knife  between  entire  communities ; 
now  it  is  a quarrel  over  boundary  lines,  or  a raid  for  plunder 
or  retaliation  for  trespass  and  murder,  or  the  avenging  of  some 
insult  which  cannot  be  passed  unnoticed.  A constant  state  of 
anarchy  and  bloody  hostility  is  thus  kept  up  among  neighbor- 
ing clans  and  communities.  “ When  the  Word  of  God  came 
among  us,”  said  a Kaffir  chief  in  1836,  “ we  were  like  the 
wild  beasts ; we  knew  nothing — nothing  but  war  and  blood- 
shed. Every  one  was  against  his  neighbor,  every  man  tried 
to  destroy  his  brother.”  Dr.  Moffat  has  given  vivid  descrip- 


THE  TRIBAL  GROUP 


103 


tions  of  the  desperate  character  of  the  tribal  feuds  which  he 
found  prevailing  in  South  Africa.  Lust,  revenge,  and  rapine 
were  continually  on  the  war-path.  Throughout  the  length 
and  breadth  of  Zambesia  raids  and  counter-raids,  attended 
with  savage  barbarities,  always  have  been,  and,  where  oppor- 
tunity offers,  are  still,  the  constant  occupation  of  hostile  tribes. 
The  popular  theory  of  punishment  or  revenge  in  Africa  is  not 
to  seek  out  the  guilty  and  inflict  upon  them  the  penalty ; it  is 
to  strike  an  indiscriminate  blow  at  the  entire  community  or 
tribe  to  whom  the  offender  belongs.  Vengeance  is  sweet  to 
the  native  African,  and  under  some  circumstances  it  becomes, 
according  to  his  social  code,  an  imperative  duty. 

3.  In  Turkey  and  Persia , where  national  and  religious  dis- 
tinctions honeycomb  society,  there  is  hardly  a village  which  is 
not  ready  for  sectional  strife  upon  the  slightest  provocation. 
The  horrors  in  Armenia  show  the  fearful  excesses  to  which  re- 
ligious and  political  hostility,  when  once  aroused,  will  lead. 
The  Kurd,  who  is  facile  princeps  in  his  fiendishness,  not  only 
delights  in  barbarities  upon  Christians,  but  is  often  at  war 
with  his  own  people  in  local  feuds. 

4.  In  India  there  is  perpetual  hostility  between  Hindus 
and  Moslems,  resulting  in  feuds  which  are  handed  down  with 
religious  fidelity  from  generation  to  generation,  and  are  always 
ready  to  break  out  into  bloody  violence  if  some  trifling  cause 
awakens  the  spirit  of  strife.  Among  the  wild  tribes  of  the 
mountains  trial  by  combat  is  a favorite  method  of  settling  dis- 
putes, while  their  blood  feuds  are  transmitted  as  a sacred  in- 
heritance from  father  to  son.  The  unforgiving  character  of 
the  Hindus  makes  them  cling  tenaciously  to  the  hope  of  re- 
venge, and  wait  patiently  and  long  for  their  opportunity.  In 
Assam  murder  is  regarded  as  a social  accomplishment.  “ No 
young  Naga,”  remarks  The  Indian  Witness , i ‘ is  considered  a 
man  unless  his  hands  have  been  imbrued  in  the  blood  of  his 
fellow-man,  whether  in  war  or  in  cold  blood  makes  no  differ- 
ence.’, In  Burma  the  war  of  clans  and  even  smaller  com- 
munities has  been  common. 

5.  China  is  a network  of  clans  ready  to  engage  in  hostile 
strife  upon  the  slightest  provocation.  Massacre  and  bloodshed 
are  the  usual  result  of  these  conflicts.  Village  feuds  are  com- 
mon among  the  Chinese.  If  they  do  not  result  in  actual 
bloodshed  they  are  sure  to  develop  a system  of  petty  trespass 
and  the  destruction  of  the  property,  especially  the  crops,  of 


104  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 

the  village.  In  Formosa  fierce  and  sanguinary  warfare,  last- 
ing sometimes  for  half  a century,  has  attended  these  feuds 
among  savage  tribes.  The  practice  of  head-hunting  may  be 
traced  back  to  these  village  and  tribal  wars.  The  Chinese  in 
Formosa  are  especially  the  objects  of  hatred,  and  the  head  of 
a Chinaman  is  a trophy  highly  prized.  “No  savage  is  es- 
teemed/ ’ says  Dr.  Williams,  “ who  has  not  beheaded  a China- 
man, while  the  greater  the  number  of  heads  brought  home  from 
a fray  the  higher  the  position  of  a brave  in  the  community. ” 
The  traditions  of  Japan  are  full  of  reports  of  conflicts  between 
the  old  feudal  lords  and  their  retainers,  but  in  the  present  new 
era  of  advancing  civilization  and  national  reconstruction  these 
petty  strifes  have  almost  entirely  disappeared.  A character- 
istic sight  in  Koreaf  usually  in  connection  with  the  advent  of 
the  new  year,  is  a promiscuous  battle  with  clubs  and  stones 
between  neighboring  villages.  It  is  often  in  sport,  but  in 
many  instances  it  becomes  a veritable  mimic  war. 

In  New  Guinea  and  throughout  Oceania  turmoil  and  strife 
are  commonplace  features  of  savage  life.  “Blood  for  blood 
is  a sacred  law  almost  of  nature  wherever  Christianity  has  not 
prevailed.”  Trespass  or  violence  on  the  part  of  any  member 
of  a tribe  is  regarded  as  fastening  the  guilt  upon  the  entire 
tribe,  and  thus  indiscriminate  bloodshed  follows.  The  sounds 
of  savage  warfare  have  echoed  among  the  islands  of  the  Pacific 
for  unknown  generations,  and  where  the  happier  arts  of  peace 
now  prevail  they  are  almost  entirely  the  result  of  Christian 
missionary  teaching  and  influence.  If  we  penetrate  in  almost 
any  direction  into  the  comparatively  unknown  and  inaccessible 
recesses  of  heathenism  we  will  find  the  same  shocking  story  of 
blood  feuds  and  perpetual  outbursts  of  sanguinary  hostility. 
An  officer  of  a prominent  trading  company  who  has  lived  long 
among  the  Eskimos  has  given  it  as  his  opinion  that  “ he  did 
not  think  there  was  a single  Eskimo  frequenting  that  post, 
and  who  had  attained  thirty  years  of  age,  who  had  not 
murdered  a human  being.”  The  reign  of  the  Prince  of 
Peace  is  sadly  needed  among  the  warring  factions  of  heathen 
society. 

Lawlessness. — i.  One  of  the  noblest  missions  of  civiliza- 
tion is  the  establishment  and  enforcement  of  just  and  effective 
laws  restraining  and  punishing  crimes  against  both  the  person 
of  the  individual  and  the  good  order  of  society.  The  spirit 
of  lawlessness  has  brought  sorrow  and  unrest  to  humanity 


THE  TRIBAL  GROUP 


105 


during  all  its  history,  and  were  it  not  for  the  majestic  sway  of 
law  and  its  efficient  administration  there  would  be  no  guaran- 
tee of  security  and  order  even  in  civilized  communities.  The 
study  of  criminology  within  the  bounds  of  civilization  has  been 
made  a specialty  by  expert  students  (e.  g.,  Wines,  Henderson, 
Lombroso,  and  MacDonald),  who  have  published  the  results 
of  their  investigations  in  instructive  volumes.  In  the  wide 
realms  of  barbarism  crimes  of  every  kind  afflict  society.  The 
criminal  is  comparatively  unrestrained  by  law,  and  pursues  his 
wild  career  with  little  fear  of  justice.  There  are  primitive 
and  rude  methods  of  punishment  in  vogue  everywhere,  and 
even  in  the  less  civilized  states  of  the  world  the  administration 
of  justice  would  be  prompt  and  effective  were  the  practice 
equal  to  the  theory.  The  possibility  and,  in  many  instances, 
the  probability  that  justice  will  miscarry,  combined  with  the 
allurements  of  lawlessness  to  untamed  natures,  give  a fatal 
stimulus  to  criminal  instincts  and  make  the  non-Christian 
world  to  a deplorable  extent  a prey  to  lawless  violence. 

2.  There  are  many  sections  both  of  Asia  and  Africa  that 
have  been  in  the  past  noted  for  disorder  and  misrule  which  are 
to-day  under  the  control  of  civilized  governments , and  are  im- 
mensely benefited  by  their  vigorous  police  administration. 
India  is  a prominent  example.  Crime  and  violence  were 
rampant  all  through  the  vast  peninsula  before  the  advent  of 
British  rule.  The  native  rulers  themselves  were  arch-crim- 
inals, and  society  groaned  under  the  miseries  of  rapine  and 
vicious  depravity.  The  terrible  exploits  of  thugs,  dacoits,  and 
the  robber  castes,  numbering  over  a hundred,  make  a vivid 
chapter  in  Indian  lawlessness,  which,  thanks  to  the  British 
Government,  is  now  largely  a thing  of  the  past.  What  has 
been  said  of  India  is  true  of  various  portions  of  Burma,  the 
Straits  Settlements,  Australasia  wherever  foreign  rule  prevails, 
and  of  many  islands  of  the  Pacific,  together  with  extensive 
sections  of  Africa  which  have  come  under  European  super- 
vision. It  is  impossible,  of  course,  for  a foreign  power  to  re- 
strain altogether  the  forces  of  disorder,  and  it  need  not  sur- 
prise us  to  hear  that  under  British  as  well  as  other  European 
administrations  the  outlaws  are  not  all  cowed  or  old  habits  of 
crime  entirely  eradicated.  In  the  Straits  Settlements  and  in 
some  districts  of  Burma  there  is  unusual  difficulty  in  breaking 
up  the  haunts  of  outlaws  and  destroying  their  power  to  do 
evil.  To  vast  sections  of  the  Asiatic  and  African  world,  how- 


106  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


ever,  it  is  an  immense  boon  to  have  the  judicial  and  police 
administration  in  the  hands  of  foreign  authorities. 

3-  If  we  turn  now  to  the  purely  native  governments  of 
Asia  and  Africa}  we  find  that  the  criminal  classes  are  allowed 
to  prey  upon  society  to  a frightful  extent.  The  Empire  of 
Japan , under  its  new  regime,  may  be  regarded  as  a notable 
exception,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  Japanese  have  a genius 
for  government  which  is  not  found  elsewhere  in  the  Oriental 
world.  They  have  adopted  the  criminal  code  of  the  most 
advanced  nations,  and  are  proceeding  to  enforce  it  with  sur- 
prising impartiality,  fidelity,  and  efficiency.  It  is  to  be  hoped 
that  the  Island  of  Formosa,  hitherto  so  noted  for  its  piracy 
and  brigandage,  with  all  the  atrocious  deeds  of  its  “ Black 
Flags,”  or  head-hunters,  will  be  brought,  at  the  hands  of  the 
Japanese  authorities,  under  effective  discipline.  This  task, 
apparently,  is  taxing  severely  the  self-restraint  of  the  Japanese 
officials.  It  is  not  easy  for  an  Oriental  government  to 
break  at.  once  with  traditional  methods  of  administration, 
especially  if  there  should  be  a supposed  necessity  for  reviving 
them. 

In  China , in  spite  of  its  fierce  and  relentless  system  of  deal- 
ing with  criminals,  we  find  many  secret  organizations  for  the 
fomenting  of  disorder  and  the  prosecution  of  lawless  raids. 
A turbulent  and  reckless  element  is  ever  ready  for  mob 
violence  and  brigandage.  Clans  of  banditti  are  the  terror  of 
many  sections  of  the  empire.  Especially  in  times  of  disturb- 
ance is  human  life  unsafe,  and  summary  execution  is  often  the 
result  of  mere  suspicion.  Chinese  pirates  have  always  had  a 
notorious  reputation,  and  even  the  regular  soldiers  of  the 
Government  are  often  little  better  than  freebooters.  The 
foreign  residents  of  China  have  had  dire  experiences  of  the 
treachery  and  cruelty  of  lawless  mobs,  attended  in  some  in- 
stances by  fatal  results.  There  is  hardly  a province  in  the 
country  which  is  free  from  desperate  perils  at  the  hands  of 
lawless  marauders.  The  recent  outrages  upon  missionaries  in 
Western  China  and  the  deplorable  tragedy  at  Kucheng,  not 
to  speak  of  other  experiences  of  lesser  moment,  are  still  fresh 
in  our  memories. 

In  Manchuria  the  state  of  things  is  hardly  less  serious. 
Bands  of  vagabonds  link  themselves  together  in  a brotherhood 
of  vice  and  engage  in  systematic  blackmail  of  well-to-do 
citizens,  playing  the  part  of  burdensome  parasites,  from  whom 


THE  TRIBAL  GROUP 


107 


it  is  impossible  to  obtain  deliverance.  The  highways  are  be- 
set with  robber  bands  who  attack  travellers  in  such  force  that 
resistance  is  hopeless.  In  Korea  the  turbulent  Tonghaks 
have  recently  been  in  open  rebellion.  It  is  a question,  how- 
ever, whether  the  Government,  by  its  oppression  and  tyran- 
nical abuse  of  power,  has  not  justified  resistance  on  the  part 
of  its  subjects.  Disorder  and  robbery  are,  however,  all  too 
prevalent  in  every  section  of  Korea,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that 
whatever  change  of  government  may  occur,  will  be  in  the  in- 
terests of  better  discipline  throughout  the  kingdom. 

In  Upper  Burma,  Assam,  and  Central  Asia  lawless  deeds 
are  of  frequent  occurrence.  The  Afghans  are  for  the  most 
part  untamable  outlaws.  In  Assam  deeds  of  blood  are  com- 
mitted without  compunction.  In  Burma  ferocious  dacoity, 
for  purposes  of  plunder  and  extortion,  has  been  practiced  for 
generations.  The  cruelties  of  the  Burman  dacoits  are  phenom- 
enal. The  Turcomans  on  the  eastern  borders  of  Persia  have 
been  robbers  for  centuries.  In  Persia  and  in  the  mountains 
of  Kurdistan  especially  there  is  hardly  any  security  for  life  or 
property,  while  in  distressed  Armenia  an  awful  whirlwind  of 
lawlessness  has  swept  away  almost  every  vestige  of  security  and 
order.  The  traditional  attitude  of  Moslems  toward  Christians 
is  that  of  insult  and  aggression.  Dr.  William  H.  Thomson,  who 
formerly  resided  in  Asiatic  Turkey  and  is  familiar  with 
Eastern  life,  has  said  : “ It  is  not  safe  at  present  to  travel  alone 
for  a mile's  space  in  the  Moslem  world  beyond  the  reach  of 
some  Christian  occupying  power."  Arabia , now  as  of  old, 
is  a land  where  every  man's  hand  is  against  his  neighbor,  so 
that  except  in  settled  localities  there  is  no  safety,  even  for  an 
hour. 

Africa , except  as  foreign  control  is  exercised,  is  a favorite 
hunting-ground  of  the  outlaw  and  plunderer.  Robbery  is  a 
profession  ; murder  is  a commonplace  incident.  From  the 
“tiger-men"  of  the  West  Coast  through  all  the  central 
stretches  of  the  Continent  warfare  and  plunder  are  the  most 
characteristic  features  of  savage  life.  The  Angonis  and  Yaos 
in  the  region  of  Lake  Nyassa,  the  bloody  Masai  east  of  the 
Victoria  Nyanza,  and  innumerable  lesser  tribes  and  clans,  live 
in  the  constant  practice  of  their  hereditary  tendencies  to  law- 
less violence.  The  African  rivers  are  often  the  haunts  of 
pirates.  Even  in  those  countries  bordering  on  the  Mediter- 
ranean the  interior  regions  are  the  scenes  of  violence.  In 


108  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


Madagascar  the  dreaded  raids  of  robber  bands  render  much 
of  the  island  unsafe.  In  the  East  Indies  and  the  Pacific 
Islands  where  European  authority  is  not  in  control,  native  life 
for  centuries  has  been  a gruesome  record  of  conspiracy,  mur- 
der, rapine,  and  robbery. 


V 


THE  SOCIAL  GROUP 

(Evils  which  are  incidental  to  the  social  relationships  of  uncivilized  com- 
munities, and  are  due  to  lack  of  intelligence  or  the  force  of  depraved 
habit) 

Introductory. — The  previous  section  brought  to  our  at- 
tention some  of  the  grosser  and  more  inhuman  aspects  of  non- 
Christian  society,  such  as  have  arisen  chiefly  from  intertribal 
warfare  and  race  hostility.  There  remains  to  be  dealt  with  a 
cluster  of  evils  connected  with  social  relationships  of  a more 
personal  character , revealed  in  individual  conduct  and  do- 
mestic habits  of  life.  They  are  in  some  respects  similar  to 
those  mentioned  in  the  previous  group,  with  perhaps  less  of 
the  brutal  impulses  of  barbarism,  while,  on  the  other  hand, 
they  may  be  said  to  reveal  with  no  less  precision  the  moral 
tone  and  the  social  temper  of  heathen  peoples.  The  fact, 
however,  that  they  are  upon  a different  and  higher  plane,  and 
more  intimately  identified  with  personal  character  and  feeling, 
gives  them  a special  significance  as  representative  of  the  more 
subtle  inner  spirit  of  society.  Several  of  the  evils  included 
in  this  list  are  not  of  a character  to  excite  reproach  so  much 
as  to  inspire  pity  and  stimulate  a desire  to  overcome  them. 

Ignorance. — i.  The  first  specification  which  suggests 
itself  under  this  general  category  is  ignorance.  This  is  rather 
a misfortune  to  be  lamented  than  a crime  to  be  condemned, 
yet  it  is  none  the  less  an  evil  of  stupendous  magnitude , the 
fountain  of  a whole  series  of  deplorable  miseries  and  social 
disabilities.  Human  life  everywhere  needs  for  its  wholesome 
development  and  higher  progress  the  guidance  and  stimulus  of^ 
knowledge,  the  incitement  of  quickening  ideals,  and  the  cul- 
ture of  refining  customs.  Ignorance  is  a blighting  and  de- 
pressing environment,  in  which  the  higher  graces  of  human 
intercourse  cannot  be  developed,  and  wherein  the  nobler  life 
of  the  social  man  languishes,  while  his  lower  and  meaner 
tendencies  are  under  little  restraint.  It  produces  a rank 

109 


110  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON- CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


growth  of  positive  evils,  which  are  both  a peril  and  a stigma 
to  society.  It  places,  moreover,  a serious  embargo  upon  in- 
dustrial enterprise,  and  fixes  life  in  the  old  routine  of  anti- 
quated methods,  with  little  hope  of  improvement. 

2.  By  ignorance  in  this  connection  we  do  not  mean  mere 
illiteracy , although  this  is  usually  a prominent  feature  of  it. 
We  refer  rather  to  an  ignorance  which  may  be  coincident  with 
advanced  educational  attainments  in  the  heathen  classics  and 
in  the  standard  literature  of  Oriental  nations.  Its  scope  is 
much  broader  than  mere  mental  vacuity,  and  includes  also  a 
grievous  dearth  of  that  intellectual,  moral,  and  social  training 
which  comes  through  contact  with  truth,  and  is  a part  of  the 
broader  culture  which  scientific  knowledge  gives.  A very 
learned  man  in  the  scholastic  lore  of  the  Orient  may  be  at  the 
same  time  a slave  to  the  most  degrading  customs  and  a victim 
to  the  most  puerile  superstitions.  In  India  and  China , for  ex- 
ample, we  find  vast  systems  of  philosophy  and  imposing 
curriculums  of  education,  but  with  it  all  an  obtuseness,  a 
narrowness,  a pedantry,  an  intensity  of  intellectual  pride 
combined  with  a pitiful  emptiness  of  mind,  which  justify  the 
charge  of  ignorance,  whatever  may  be  the  measure  of  attain- 
ment. An  expert  analysis  of  the  actual  condition  of  the 
educated  mind  of  China  is  given  by  Dr.  Martin  in  his 
“Hanlin  Papers, ” and  a more  striking  exhibition  of  what 
might  be  called  learned  ignorance  it  would  be  difficult  to  find. 
There  is,  no  doubt,  even  in  lands  where  education  is  not  un- 
known, an  astonishing  degree  of  absolute,  unmitigated  illiter- 
acy, but  in  large  sections  of  the  non-Christion  world  there  is 
this  and  nothing  else. 

The  most  remarkable  exception  to  this  statement  is  Japan , 
where  education  is  now  pushed  with  energy,  and  where  the 
Government  system  of  schools  will  already  bear  comparison 
with  some  of  the  nations  of  Western  Christendom.  Even  in 
India , according  to  the  last  census,  an  appalling  prevalence  of 
illiteracy  is  revealed.  Less  than  six  per  cent,  of  the  entire 
population  can  read  or  write,  and  among  the  women  only  one 
in  three  hundred  and  thirty  is  able  to  do  so.  In  many  of  the 
Native  States  there  are  no  educational  facilities,  and  even  if 
provided  they  are  only  for  the  higher  castes.  The  great  mass 
of  the  population  of  India  resides  in  its  villages,  where  ed- 
ucational privileges  exist  only  to  a very  limited  extent.  The 
education  of  India  is  a colossal  task,  which,  with  all  the 


First  Christian  College  in  the  East.  Built  by  Carey  and  his  associates  in  1819. 
Carey’s  house,  in  which  he  died,  visible  on  the  left. 

Serampore  College,  Bengal. 


Senate  House  of  Calcutta  University  on  the  left.  Presidency  College  on  the  right. 
The  Square  is  one  of  the  most  important  centres  of  student  life  in  the  East. 

College  Square,  Calcutta,  India. 


THE  SOCIAL  GROUP 


111 


facilities  of  the  English  school  system  and  missionary  institu- 
tions, is  as  yet  but  just  begun.  In  Assam  popular  education 
was  unknown  before  the  British  occupation  of  the  country  in 
1826,  and  even  at  the  present  time  about  eighty-five  per  cent, 
of  the  people  are  illiterate.  The  movement  for  popular  ed- 
ucation all  over  India  has  only  begun  to  be  felt  in  that  land. 

3.  China , although  one  of  the  most  ancient  nations  of  the 
world,  is  still  in  its  infancy  as  regards  education . The  Rev. 
John  C.  Gibson,  in  an  essay  on  Bible  versions,  read  at  the 
Shanghai  Missionary  Conference  of  1890,  reckoned  a total 
population  of  300,000,000,  of  which  75,000,000  were  children 
too  young  to  read.  If  the  remaining  225,000,000  of  maturer 
years  were  divided  equally,  half  being  men  and  the  other  half 
women,  he  estimates  that  of  the  112,500,000  women  only  one 
per  cent.,  or  1,125,000,  are  able  to  read,  and  of  the  men  ten 
per  cent,  is  named  as  a liberal  estimate,  or  11,250,000  who 
are  readers.  The  result  is  that  out  of  225,000,000  only 
1 2, 375,000  are  able  to  read.  Another  estimate,  by  Dr. 
Martin,  reduces  the  number  of  readers  to  about  6,000,000. 
The  significance  of  these  estimates  is  emphasized  by  a com- 
parison which  Mr.  Gibson  makes  with  the  percentage  of 
readers  in  twenty-one  of  the  Northern  States  in  America, 
which  is  ninety-five  and  five  tenths  per  cent,  of  the  entire  pop- 
ulation over  ten  years  of  age,  leaving  a percentage  of  illiteracy 
of  only  four  and  five  tenths  per  cent,  as  compared  with 
ninety  per  cent,  men  and  ninety-nine  per  cent,  women  in  the 
Chinese  Empire.  Miss  Adele  M.  Fielde,  in  referring  to  the 
mistaken  idea,  which  many  entertain,  that  education  is  uni- 
versal among  the  men  of  the  Middle  Kingdom,  states  it  as  her 
judgment  that  “ not  more  than  one  Chinese  man  in  a hundred, 
taking  the  empire  through,  knows  how  to  read,  and  still  fewer 
can  write  a letter.  Of  the  women  not  more  than  one  in  a 
thousand  can  read.”  The  Rev.  Jonathan  Lees,  of  the  London 
Missionary  Society,  who  has  resided  thirty-five  years  in 
China,  coincides  with  these  statements.  The  Rev.  A.  H. 
Smith,  in  his  chapter  on  “Intellectual  Turbidity/’  dwells 
with  much  emphasis  upon  the  brooding  ignorance  which 
shadows  the  intellectual  life  of  China.  “ The  Western  child 
of  ten  years  of  age,”  says  a writer  in  The  Chinese  Recorder , 
“knows  more  about  the  earth,  the  universe,  and  the  immu- 
table laws  of  nature  than  the  average  Hanlin,  or  member  of  the 
Imperial  Academy.” 


112  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


4.  The  effect  of  all  this  is  sadly  depressing,  not  only  to 
the  individual,  but  to  the  social,  political,  and  industrial  life  of 
China.  If  we  take  into  consideration  the  incompetency  of 
such  a powerful  political  factor  in  the  empire  as  the  Tsungli 
Yamen,  arising  from  sheer  ignorance,  we  can  discover  what  an 
incalculable  injury  it  is  to  the  political  life  of  a great  empire 
to  be  controlled  by  a body  of  men  concerning  whom  a recent 
correspondent  of  The  Times , who  “ had  the  honor  of  discuss- 
ing with  their  Excellencies  some  of  the  burning  questions  of 
the  day,”  remarked  that  “the  strongest  impression  which  I 
carried  away  with  me  was  that  the  whole  world  of  thought  in 
which  the  Western  mind  is  trained  and  lives  seems  to  be  as 
alien  to  the  Chinese  mind  as  the  language  which  we  speak.” 
Then,  as  regards  the  incalculable  damage  done  to  the  in- 
dustrial interests  of  the  empire  by  the  crass  ignorance  and  un- 
conquerable prejudices  of  the  people,  much  might  be  said. 
Western  methods  and  facilities  in  all  departments  of  industrial 
enterprise  are  regarded  with  inane  suspicion  and  supercilious 
contempt.  Political  economy  is  quite  unknown  as  a modern 
science,  nor  is  there  any  general  recognition  of  the  advantages 
of  international  trade  and  the  possibilities  of  industrial  en- 
terprise. The  Rev.  Timothy  Richard,  in  an  address  before 
the  Peking  Missionary  Association  in  October,  1895,  expressed 
the  opinion  that  “ China  loses  a million  taels  a day  by  igno- 
rance.” A curious  study  in  Chinese  questions  by  the  Rev.  J. 
H.  Horsburgh,  missionary  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society 
in  Szechuan,  is  interesting  as  a revelation  of  their  remarkable 
capabilities  in  that  line,  and  also  of  the  childish  range  of  the 
information  which  they  seek. 

5.  In  Korea  substantially  the  same  statements  will  hold 
true.  It  is  a land  of  undeveloped,  almost  untouched  resources, 
simply  because  of  the  intellectual  slumber  of  the  people  and 
the  inanity  of  what  little  education  they  can  attain.  In 
Formosa , where  hardly  any  literature  exists  except  such  as 
has  been  provided  by  the  missionaries,  in  the  Pacific  Islands , 
where  a similar  statement  would  hold,  in  Moslem  lands,  where 
education  as  conducted  under  native  auspices  is  of  practically 
little  value,  throughout  the  Continent  of  Africay  in  many 
sections  of  South  America  and  the  West  Indies , there  are 
deep  needs  arising  from  the  lack  of  educational  facilities.  A 
large  part  of  the  world,  in  fact,  may  be  said  to  be  still  deeply 
wrapped  in  the  slumber  of  ignorance , and,  were  it  not  for  the 


THE  SOCIAL  GROUP 


113 


educational  efforts  of  foreign  missions,  there  would  be  little 
hope  of  a speedy  awakening. 

Quackery. — i.  Ignorance  in  some  of  its  aspects  may  be 
regarded  as  only  a negative  evil,  but  when  it  undertakes  to 
practice  medicine  and  surgery  it  becomes  a positive  evil  of  an 
aggressive  and  deadly  character.  The  agonies  and  sorrows 
which  result  from  the  stupid  and  cruel  inflictions  of  quackery 
upon  suffering  humanity  make  an  awful  chapter  in  the  daily 
experience  of  mankind.  These  miseries  have  been  endured 
for  centuries,  and  must  continue  indefinitely,  unless  scientific 
knowledge  and  competent  skill  take  the  place  of  the  wretched 
incompetence  which  now  does  such  harm  to  stricken  victims. 
The  vagaries  of  quackery  would  be  only  an  interesting  and 
curious  study,  were  it  not  for  the  serious  and  shocking  reality 
of  the  harm  involved.  After  all,  the  thing  to  be  lamented  is 
not  so  much  the  resort  to  useless  remedies  as  the  ignorance  and 
credulity  which  make  them  possible.  It  is  natural  for  dis- 
tressed humanity  to  seek  relief  from  its  sufferings,  and  this 
gives  to  ignorant  assumption  its  opportunity,  and  opens  the 
way  for  the  adoption  of  those  useless  and  dangerous  expedients 
which  have  added  such  an  untold  increment  to  the  world's 
misery. 

2.  It  is  amazing  to  note  the  ignorance  of  even  practitioners 
of  wide  reputation  in  lands  where  no  scientific  medical  instruc- 
tion is  known.  In  Clima  the  so-called  doctors  are  “ the  merest 
empirics,  and,  having  no  fear  of  medical  colleges  or  examina- 
tion tests  before  their  eyes,  prey  on  the  folly  and  ignorance  of 
the  people  without  let  or  hindrance."  With  no  knowledge  of 
physiology  or  anatomy,  pathological  diagnosis  is  the  merest 
guesswork.  Such  a remedy  as  amputation  is  never,  under  any 
circumstances,  thought  of,  since  it  is  regarded  as  indicating 
disrespect  to  ancestors  to  mutilate  the  body.  A Chinese 
doctor,  entirely  ignorant  of  the  distinction  between  arteries 
and  veins,  will  feel  the  pulses  of  both  wrists,  with  an  idea  that 
the  beating  of  the  pulse  of  the  left  arm  indicates  the  state  of 
the  heart,  while  that  of  the  right  represents  the  health  of  the 
lungs  and  liver.  If  these  signs  fail,  the  tongue  will  surely 
yield  some  mystic  augury  concerning  the  nature  of  the 
disease. 

As  to  remedies , they  are  composed  of  many  vegetable,  min- 
eral, and  animal  substances,  some  of  them  of  the  most  absurd 
irrelevance.  They  are  referred  to  in  some  detail  by  Mr. 


114  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  HON- CHRISTIAN  IVOR  LB 

Douglas  in  his  chapter  on  medicine.  A remedy  of  noted 
efficacy  is  the  carcass  of  a tiger.  It  can  be  used  in  a variety 
of  ways  and  is  supposed  to  possess  marvellous  tonic  qualities. 
There  is  a potent  remedial  power  in  dried  scorpions,  and  as  a 
remedy  for  Asiatic  cholera  nothing  excels  a needle  thrust  into 
the  abdomen.  In  a recent  report  of  one  of  the  Chinese  hos- 
pitals of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Mission  in  Central  China, 
an  account  is  given  of  a woman  who  had  been  sick  for  a long 
time  before  she  came  for  treatment,  and  “ had  eaten  more 
than  two  hundred  spiders,  and  a large  number  of  snakes’  eggs, 
without  being  helped.”  A native  medical  prescription  in 
Northern  China  required  a wife  to  take  some  of  her  own  flesh 
and,  having  properly  prepared  it,  to  give  it  to  her  sick  hus- 
band to  eat.  The  directions  were  heroically  carried  out,  but 
without  avail.  In  the  case  of  bullet  wounds,  prayers  are  writ- 
ten on  a piece  of  red  paper,  which  is  burned,  and  from  its 
ashes  medicine  is  made.  Frequent  cases  of  blood-poisoning 
result  from  the  putrid  animal  flesh  so  often  applied  to  wounds. 
The  superstition  of  the  natives,  and  their  suspicions  of  foreign 
treatment,  are  well  illustrated  in  a letter  from  the  Rev.  C. 
Bennett  (Church  Missionary  Society),  on  the  plague  in  Hong 
Kong,  published  in  The  Church  Missionary  Intelligencer , 
October,  1894,  p.  752.  Some  of  the  remedies  are  not  only 
absurd,  but  characterized  by  cruel  barbarity. 

3.  Dr,  Mac  Kay , in  writing  of  Formosa , has  given  many 
interesting  facts  bearing  upon  this  theme.  In  a recent  report 
of  his  mission  hospital,  an  account  of  some  of  the  native 
specifics  for  various  diseases  in  North  Formosa  is  given.  For 
anaemia  is  prescribed  a jelly  made  of  the  bones  of  a savage 
recently  killed.  An  execution  of  some  criminal  will  be  numer- 
ously attended  by  practitioners  to  obtain  the  requisite  mater- 
ial for  making  this  valuable  remedy.  For  Asiatic  cholera  the 
body  is  pierced  with  needles.  For  catarrh  a chip  is  taken 
from  some  coffin  after  it  has  been  let  down  into  the  grave,  and 
boiled  with  other  ingredients,  and  then  laid  aside  for  future 
use.  In  case  of  dog  bite  the  tartar  from  teeth  is  considered 
an  effective  antidote.  A dyspeptic  must  be  fed  on  dog’s  flesh, 
especially  that  of  puppies.  For  ophthalmia  the  intestines  of  a 
bedbug  are  applied  to  the  eye.  For  rheumatism  a soup  is 
made  of  the  feet  of  the  monkey,  combined  with  other  ingre- 
dients, such  as  pork  and  spirituous  liquors.  Then  there  are 
boiled  toads  and  dried  grass,  while  numerous  other  childish 


Moukden  Hospital  Staff  and  Students. 


THE  SOCIAL  GROUP 


115 


nostrums  are  resorted  to  as  expedients  for  coping  with  the 
dread  emergencies  of  disease. 

4.  The  Korean  doctor  and  his  methods  are  described  in  an 
article  by  Dr.  Busteed  in  The  Korean  Repository  for  May, 
1895.  He  seems  to  be  very  fond  of  the  needle,  which  he 
thrusts  into  the  flesh  as  a sovereign  remedy  for  many  maladies. 
For  hydrophobia  he  prescribed  a powder  made  of  the  skull  of 
a tiger.  This  is  to  be  taken  internally,  and  a poultice  of 
garlic  applied  to  the  bite.  The  bones  of  a tiger  are  highly 
valued  by  the  Koreans  for  their  medicinal  qualities,  and  they 
are  regarded  as  a specific  for  cowardice.  A good  strong  soup 
of  tiger  bones  is  supposed  to  make  a hero  of  the  most  arrant 
coward.  For  general  debility  a Korean  sufferer  partakes  of 
boiled  bear's  gall.  The  loathsome  character  of  some  of  the 
poultices  applied  to  wounds  by  the  native  practitioner  is  too 
sickening  to  mention.  Various  diseases  are  supposed  to  have 
special  demoniacal  attendants,  and  in  a case  of  smallpox,  for 
example,  the  principal  function  of  a doctor  is  to  exorcise  its 
demon.  This  done,  all  will  be  well.  Dr.  Rosetta  Sherwood 
Hall  (Methodist  Episcopal  Missionary  Society)  gives  an  ac- 
count of  the  visit  of  a Korean  doctor  to  a sick  child.  The 
first  thing  he  did  was  to  make  a little  pyramid  of  brownish- 
looking  powder  upon  each  breast  of  the  child,  and  then  to  set 
it  afire  until  it  burned  the  tender  skin.  This  was  followed  by 
the  use  of  a large  darning-needle,  which  was  thrust  through 
each  little  foot,  the  palms  of  the  hands,  the  thumb-joints,  and 
through  the  lips  into  the  jaw  just  beneath  the  nose.  In  some 
cases  this  species  of  treatment  results  in  suppuration  with  fatal 
consequences. 

5.  The  Aimt  of  Northern  Japan,  when  he  is  sick,  sends 
for  his  medicine-man,  who,  “ falling  into  a sort  of  trance  and 
working  himself  up  into  a kind  of  frenzy,  tells  why  the  dis- 
ease has  come  and  what  demon  has  sent  it.”  He  prescribes 
some  charms  which,  if  worn  by  the  sufferer,  will  banish  the 
demon  and  relieve  the  distress. 

6.  In  Thibet  the  favorite  remedy  is  butter , which  is  rubbed 
freely  on  the  patient.  Where  this  fails,  as,  for  example,  in 
case  of  smallpox,  which  they  especially  dread,  they  often  adopt 
summary  methods  and  dispose  of  the  victims  either  by  burn- 
ing them  or  by  throwing  them  into  rapid  torrents;  or  per- 
haps they  carry  them  to  a mountain-top,  where  they  leave 
them  to  recover  or  die.  If  the  internal  or  external  use  of 


116  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


butter  is  of  no  avail  for  ordinary  illnesses,  the  lamas , whose 
methods  are  peculiar,  are  summoned  to  the  rescue.  They 
make  a life-sized  image  of  the  sick  person,  dressing  it  in  his 
or  her  clothes,  not  forgetting  personal  ornaments,  and  place  it 
in  the  courtyard.  They  then  sit  around  this  image  and  read 
passages  from  the  sacred  classics  supposed  to  be  suitable  for 
the  case.  A wild  dance  with  incantations  follows,  and  this  is 
supposed  to  be  effective  in  transferring  the  malady  from  the 
patient  to  his  effigy.  After  this  the  effigy  is  burned  outside 
the  village. 

7.  Even  in  lands  where  Western  intelligence  has  pene- 
trated to  a considerable  extent  the  old  tricks  of  quackery  are 
still  found.  In  India  sickness  is  often  ascribed  to  demons  or 
to  the  anger  of  gods  and  goddesses,  who  are  thought  to  pre- 
side over  epidemics,  and  who  must  be  propitiated  in  order  to 
secure  their  suppression.  “ Killed  by  ignorance  ” is  still  the 
verdict  in  numberless  cases  of  fatality,  and  when  we  remem- 
ber that  the  total  number  of  deaths  in  India  every  year  is  be- 
tween five  and  six  millions,  we  can  appreciate  how  disastrous 
are  the  results  of  quackery,  which  has,  no  doubt,  been  the 
only  ministry  which  the  vast  majority  have  received  in  their 
fatal  illnesses.  To  be  sure,  the  old  system,  with  its  charms 
and  incantations,  its  profitless  and  often  cruel  remedies,  is 
gradually  passing  away,  yet  the  native  hakim  is  the  only  re- 
course in  the  case  of  vast  multitudes.  It  is  estimated  by  Sir 
William  Moore  that  “not  five  per  cent,  of  the  population  is 
reached  by  the  present  system  of  medical  aid.”  Even  in  the 
great  cities,  where  there  are  hospitals  and  dispensaries,  more 
than  half  of  the  people  die  unattended  in  sickness  either  by 
educated  doctor  or  native  quack.  “If  this  is  the  case  in  the 
cities,”  writes  Dr.  Wanless,  “what  must  be  the  condition  in 
the  566,000  villages,  each  with  a population  of  less  than  500, 
not  to  mention  thousands  of  large  towns  with  a population  of 
from  1,000  to  5,000,  without  even  a native  doctor  ? ” The 
difficulties  attending  medical  practice  in  India  arising  from 
the  severity  of  the  conventional  rules  of  society  add,  no  doubt, 
to  the  volume  of  neglect  to  which  we  referred.  In  an  instruc- 
tive discussion  in  the  pages  of  The  Indian  Magazine  and  Review 
for  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1895  and  the  earlier  numbers  of 
1896,  concerning  “Medical  Aid  to  Indian  Women,”  are  to 
be  found  repeated  references  to  the  lamentable  woes  of  Indian 
women  in  times  of  illness  and  suffering,  even  though,  as  in 


THE  SOCIAL  GROUP 


117 


many  instances,  medical  aid  might  be  available.  It  is  a ques- 
tion whether  the  so-called  hakims  or  vaidyas}  with  their  fool- 
ish and  worthless  remedies,  are  any  relief,  or  whether  to  be 
unattended  is  not  a milder  fate  than  to  be  ministered  to  by 
those  who  will  gravely  prescribe  the  powdered  horn  of  the 
sacred  bull  as  a remedy  of  special  efficacy,  or  who  repeat 
verses  out  of  their  sacred  books  for  the  relief  of  a person  who 
has  been  bitten  by  a poisonous  insect. 

8.  In  Burma  and  eastward  the  reign  of  quackery  is  still 
the  occasion  of  numberless  woes  to  those  who  might  be  re- 
lieved by  intelligent  medical  aid  in  their  times  of  distress. 
The  singular  and  painful  custom  of  roasting  the  abdomen  of 
the  mother  of  a newborn  child  is  mentioned  by  Dr.  Thomas, 
of  Lakawn,  Laos  (“  Report  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  For- 
eign Missions,”  1895,  p.  183).  The  same  Report,  in  the  sec- 
tion on  Persia  (p.  168)  mentions  the  case  of  a woman  who  had 
obtained  from  a mullah  two  or  three  prayers  written  on  paper. 
Every  morning  she  was  to  put  one  of  these  in  a glass  of  water 
and  when  the  writing  had  disappeared  from  the  paper  she  was 
to  drink  the  water.  In  her  despair  she  had  come  to  the  hos- 
pital at  Teheran  for  treatment.  Surgery  in  Persia  is  heroic 
and  reminds  one  of  the  various  methods  of  torture  rather  than 
of  an  attempt  to  relieve  suffering.  In  Arabia  an  ingenious 
expedient  for  relieving  a patient  is  “burning  holes  in  the 
body  to  let  the  disease  out,  branding  sick  children  with  red- 
hot  bars,  chopping  off  wounded  limbs  and  sealing  them  with 
boiling  tar.”  Who  can  doubt  the  dread  woes  of  quackery 
when  such  measures  as  these  are  employed  ? 

9.  Throughout  Africa  the  belief  in  the  influence  of  evil 
spirits  and  their  ever-active  machinations  is  all-powerful. 
They  are  thought  to  people  the  very  atmosphere  and  to  dwell 
in  a thousand  otherwise  innocent  things  which  are  common- 
place features  of  every-day  environment.  They  are  supposed 
to  be  forever  busy  in  inflicting  trouble  and  suffering  upon 
humanity.  Some  of  them  are  good,  but  the  great  majority 
are  evil  and  bent  upon  doing  harm.  Sickness  or  disaster  or 
distress  of  any  kind  is  considered  due  to  their  malign  inter- 
vention. There  are,  therefore,  two  classes  of  individuals  in 
African  communities  whose  supposed  power  is  either  dreaded 
or  eagerly  sought.  One  consists  of  those  who  are  looked  upon 
as  capable  of  commanding  the  evil  spirits  and  so  controlling 
and  directing  their  activity.  The  other  consists  of  those  who 


118  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


have  power  to  banish  them  or  render  nugatory  their  influence. 
They  are  known  respectively  as  witches  and  witch-doctors, 
although  the  native  titles  are  many  and  various. 

Medical  practice,  therefore,  is  almost  entirely  in  the  hands 
of  these  witch-doctors , magicians,  diviners,  medicine-men,  and 
devil-doctors.  They  are  usually  shrewd,  cunning,  and  cruel, 
sometimes  thoroughly  demented,  or  it  may  be  that  possibly 
they  are  in  some  instances  actually  under  the  awful  sway  of 
demons,  of  whose  mysterious  activity  in  the  dark  realms  of 
heathenism  we  know  little  and  cannot  therefore  dogmatize. 
The  service  rendered  by  these  weird  characters,  being  a func- 
tion which  pertains  exclusively  to  them,  and  consisting,  ac- 
cording to  native  ideas,  of  an  actual  conflict  with  malign 
spirits,  whose  brooding  terror  rests  upon  every  heart,  is  con- 
sidered as  of  special  value  and  regarded  with  reverential  awe. 
The  reign  of  such  an  awful  delusion  in  the  innermost  con- 
sciousness of  ignorant  creatures  is  fearful  to  contemplate.  We 
who  live  in  the  freedom  of  enlightenment  can  hardly  imagine 
the  dread  alarms  of  a life  supposed  to  be  in  actual  contact 
with  demons,  exposed  to  their  whims  and  spites,  their  deadly 
anger,  and  their  cruel  malignity.  What  an  opportunity  does 
all  this  offer  for  a species  of  demoniacal  blackmail,  and  what 
power  is  given  to  one  whose  ministry  is  supposed  to  be  an 
effective  remedy  for  all  the  sorrows  and  woes  of  life  ! It  is  no 
wonder  that  they  turn  in  their  ignorance  to  one  who  is  re- 
garded as  possessing  the  power  to  deliver  and  defend  them  in 
the  desperate  emergencies  in  which  they  find  themselves. 

The  Rev.  R.  F.  Acland  Hood,  in  a few  “ Notes  on  Witch- 
craft, ” published  in  Central  Africa , March,  1895,  has  de- 
scribed some  of  the  methods  by  which  the  supposed  presence 
of  witchcraft  is  discovered,  and  the  remedies  which  a witch- 
doctor will  apply  for  the  relief  of  his  patients.  “ To  begin 
with,”  he  remarks,  “ there  are  two  classes  of  spiritual  practi- 
tioners, which  we  are  constantly  meeting  in  African  books  of 
travel  as  the  ‘ witches  ’ and  the  ‘ witch-doctors/  The  witches, 
or  wachani , are  the  people  (men  and  women)  who  know  how 
to  make  and  to  use  medicines  and  charms  ( uchani ).  If  any 
one  wishes  to  make  use  of  uchani  he  will  first  go  to  a wachani 
and  persuade  him  by  gift  to  let  him  have  the  uchani  which  he 
requires.  No  one,  at  least  here,  wishes  to  use  uchani  except 
for  the  purpose  of  harming  another.  If  any  one  is  more  pros- 
perous than  his  neighbors,  or  if  he  is  merely  conceited,  then 


THE  SOCIAL  GROUP 


119 


let  him  look  out,  as  he  is  sure  to  be  bewitched.  Uchani  is 
generally  practiced  at  night ; then  the  wachani  go  about,  when 
every  one  is  in  bed.  They  call  to  one  another,  but  no  one 
except  the  specially  gifted  can  hear  them.  Perhaps  they  will 
go  in  a body  to  the  house  of  the  person  to  be  bewitched. 
They  go  naked,  and  no  one  can  see  them.  Before  they  enter 
the  house  they  wrest  open  the  door  and  throw  some  powdered 
stuff  on  the  fire,  which  ensures  the  man’s  sleeping ; then  they 
enter.  If  the  man  has  been  cautious  he  will  have  provided 
himself  with  a charm  to  hold  in  his  hand  while  he  sleeps,  and 
then  when  the  wachani  come  he  will  awake.  As  the  wachani 
see  him  wake  they  will  beseech  him  not  to  tell  any  one  of 
their  coming  and  will  offer  him  large  presents  to  be  silent.  It 
is  believed  that  either  if  he  accepts  their  presents  or  if  he  tells 
the  chief  the  wachani  will  kill  him,  but  if  he  refuses  the  pres- 
ents and  keeps  silence  he  is  safe.”  There  are  various  other 
methods  of  accomplishing  the  purpose  of  bewitching  an  enemy, 
but  when  this  is  achieved  the  universal  recourse  is  to  the  spe- 
cialists, who  are  supposed  to  be  able  to  cope  with  the  situation. 

Upon  this  subject  the  same  author  remarks : “ Now  comes 

the  remedy  for  witchcraft , which  brings  in  the  witch-doctor. 
But  the  witch-doctor  is  called  in  for  everything — not  only 
when  a person  is  bewitched,  but  when  any  accident  occurs,  or 
if  crops  fail,  or  if  war  is  imminent,  in  fact,  in  all  emergencies. 
The  stock  in  trade  of  a witch-doctor  is  a set  of  gourds,  or  horns, 
or  in  these  days  bottles  with  different  medicines  in  them, 
which  are  not  ‘ taken/  but  only  consulted,  and  a skin  of  some 
small  animal,  often  a squirrel,  which  is  stuffed  with  uchani. 
In  the  eyeholes  are  sewn  two  beads.  This  stuffed  skin  is  gen- 
erally held  by  the  tail,  and  is  supposed  to  answer  questions 
put  to  it  by  standing  up,  nodding,  etc.  When  a person  wishes 
to  consult  a witch-doctor,  he  will  first  find  out  which  of  them 
has  the  best  chisango , as  their  divining  instruments  are  called. 
Let  us  suppose  him  to  be  going  to  inquire  why  his  child  is  ill 
and  what  he  should  do  to  ensure  recovery ; the  first  thing  for  him 
to  ascertain  is  whether  the  witch-doctor  has  a good  chisango; 
so  he  will  at  first  try  to  deceive  him.  ‘My  brother  was 
wounded  by  a leopard  out  hunting,  and  we  want  to  know  why 
it  happened.'  Then  the  witch-doctor  consults  his  chisango 
and  says,  ‘No,  you  haven’t  come  for  that  reason.’  ‘A  herd 
of  wild  boars  has  been  rooting  up  the  crops  in  my  farm,  and 
I want  to  know  how  to  stop  them.’  And  so  he  goes  on  until 


120  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


he  mentions  the  real  cause  of  his  visit.  In  case  the  witch- 
doctor is  taken  in  by  any  of  these  stories,  the  man  goes  off 
without  paying  anything,  and  makes  it  known  that  so-and-so's 
chisango  is  of  no  use ; but  when  the  witch-doctor  is  correct, 
he  is  asked  to  < prescribe.'  " 

The  above  description  represents  the  modus  operandi  in 
merely  one  section  of  Africa,  and  chiefly  in  connection  with 
a single  tribe  on  the  borders  of  Lake  Nyassa.  The  customs 
vary  in  different  localities,  and  there  may  be  said  to  be  in- 
numerable expedients  which  are  in  use  in  the  practice  of  these 
masters  of  the  black  art.  We  have  here  to  do  rather  with 
their  remedies,  which  are  sufficiently  wonderful  and  terrible. 
The  red-hot  iron  is  often  resorted  to  and  applied  freely  to  the 
quivering  flesh  of  the  patient.  Burning  under  various  devices 
is  a supposed  cure  for  many  distresses.  They  cut  and  slash 
the  flesh  and  rub  irritating  and  painful  medicine  into  the 
open  wounds.  It  is  indeed  hardly  possible  to  mention  in  de- 
tail the  many  absurdly  futile  ways  in  which  they  seek  to  ac- 
complish their  purpose. 

Another  popular  function  of  the  medicine-man  is  adminis- 
tering some  mysterious  tonic  to  the  warriors  on  the  eve  of  bat- 
tle. It  is  usually  the  preliminary  to  some  military  expedition. 
When  an  army  is  thus  called  to  “eat  medicine,”  some  secret 
concoction  by  a medicine-man  is  administered  to  the  warriors 
with  as  much  formality  as  attends  the  reading  of  an  official 
address  to  a European  army.  Unhappily,  the  ceremonies  are 
often  attended  with  human  sacrifice.  In  addition,  animals  are 
slaughtered,  the  right  fore  leg  being  torn  off  while  alive.  This 
must  be  done  without  the  use  of  knife  or  other  utensil,  by 
sheer  wrenching  of  native  hands.  What  then  happens  in  con- 
nection with  these  mysterious  ceremonies  has  been  described 
by  Dr.  Liengme,  a Swiss  missionary  located  in  the  vicinity  of 
Delagoa  Bay.  A similar  military  rite  is  described  by  a cor- 
respondent of  The  Mail  (London  Times'),  April  8,  1896,  as 
falling  under  his  observation  in  Swaziland.  “ This  concoc- 
tion, when  duly  finished,”  he  writes,  “is  administered  to  the 
would-be  warrior,  and  so  great  is  its  supposed  power  that  the 
very  minutest  dose  makes  the  tsi  buts , or  young  soldier,  invul- 
nerable, and  casts  a spell  over  his  enemies,  delivering  them 
into  his  hands  and  assuring  him  victory  on  all  occasions.” 
Facts  like  these  only  serve  to  illustrate  that  quackery  has  a far 
wider  scope  in  Africa  than  elsewhere  and  is  not  confined  merely 


THE  SOCIAL  GROUP 


m 


to  medical  practice.  In  Madagascar  substantially  the  same 
malign  reign  of  the  witch-doctor  prevails. 

io.  In  the  Pacific  Islands  the  subtle  power  of  the  charms 
and  incantations  of  the  sorcerer  is  a commonplace  of  native 
experience.  The  anger  of  the  spirits  is  a daily  dread,  and 
the  expedients  adopted  in  illness  are  with  a view  to  placating 
the  spirits  rather  than  relieving  the  patient.  “Natives  never 
believe  in  being  sick,”  writes  the  Rev.  James  Chalmers,  “ from 
anything  but  spiritual  causes,  and  consider  that  death,  unless 
by  murder,  can  take  place  from  nothing  but  the  wrath  of  the 
spirits.  When  there  is  sickness  in  a family,  all  the  relatives 
begin  to  wonder  what  it  means.  The  sick  person  getting  no 
better,  they  conclude  something  must  be  done.  A present  is 
given ; perhaps  food  is  taken  and  placed  on  the  sacred  place, 
then  removed  and  divided  among  friends.  The  invalid  still 
being  no  better,  a pig  is  taken  on  to  the  sacred  place  and  there 
speared  and  presented  to  the  spirits ; it  is  then  returned  and 
divided  to  be  eaten.  When  death  comes,  great  is  the  mourn- 
ing, and  the  cause,  if  not  already  known,  is  still  inquired  into. 
It  may  have  been  breaking  some  taboo  or  doing  something  the 
spirits  did  not  like.  Soon  the  body  must  be  buried,  and  gen- 
erally a grave  is  dug  under  the  house.  The  older  women  of 
the  family  stand  in  the  grave  and  receive  the  body,  holding  it 
in  their  hands  if  a child,  or  laying  it  on  one  side  if  heavy, 
saying,  ‘ O great  Spirit,  you  have  been  angry  with  us.  We 
presented  you  with  food,  and  that  did  not  satisfy.  We  gave  a 
pig,  and  still  that  did  not  satisfy.  You  have  in  your  wrath 
taken  this.  Let  that  suffice  your  wrath,  and  take  no  more/ 
The  body  is  thus  placed  in  the  grave  and  buried. ” 

n.  Among  the  Indians  of  North  and  South  America  the 
same  terrible  superstitions  prevail  with  reference  to  the  causes 
and  remedies  of  simple  illnesses.  Is  it  not  apparent  that  if 
Christian  missions  had  no  other  function  than  to  introduce  the 
resources  of  enlightened  medical  science  among  these  victims 
of  the  wretched  delusions  of  ignorant  quackery  throughout  the 
world,  there  would  still  be  a noble  mission  and  an  imperative 
call  for  the  humane  messengers  of  truth  ? 

Witchcraft. — i.  This  subject  in  its  relations  to  medical 
practice  has  been  referred  to  in  the  previous  section.  The 
witch-doctor,  or  medicine-man,  in  his  well-known  role  as  the 
“smeller  out”  or  “ smiter  ” of  evil  spirits,  depends  upon 
witchcraft  as  a powerful  adjunct  in  the  practice  of  quackery. 


122  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


He  is  believed  to  be  the  master  of  all  the  powers  of  evil,  and 
able  to  deliver  victims  from  those  diseases  and  sufferings  which 
are  supposed  to  be  produced  by  malignant  spirits.  In  the 
present  section  we  shall  refer  to  witchcraft  as  connected  with 
demonology  and  occultism . It  is  indeed  a black  art  and  has  a 
fearful  sway  over  the  imaginations  of  those  who,  through  ig- 
norance or  dominant  credulity,  fall  under  its  spell.  It  prevails 
to  an  amazing  extent  throughout  the  superstitious  Orient  and 
in  the  pagan  realms  of  fetichism  and  nature-worship.  Wher- 
ever it  exists  it  casts  a dismal  shadow  over  life,  gives  a grim 
and  sombre  aspect  to  nature,  and  turns  the  commonplace  se- 
quences of  human  experience  into  terrifying  signs  of  the  pres- 
ence and  malign  activity  of  some  mysterious  and  implacable 
enemy.  The  whole  realm  of  occultism  is  a favorite  camping- 
ground  of  the  Oriental  imagination.  The  vague  lore  of  Asiatic 
and  African  nations  is  full  of  the  mystic  and  gruesome  en- 
chantments of  witchcraft.  The  true  deliverance  from  the 
dominion  of  these  wretched  delusions  is  through  the  entrance 
into  the  mind  of  that  truth  which  can  “make  us  free”  from 
superstition.  Healthful  and  joyous  mental  vision  comes  through 
spiritual  companionship  with  Him  who  is  able  to  save  from  all 
the  powers  of  evil,  who  has  Himself  conquered  them,  and  can 
give  even  the  most  ignorant  mind  grace  and  wisdom  to  gain 
a like  victory. 

2.  Witchcraft  has  haunted  savage  life  in  all  sections  of  the 
earth , but  its  great  stronghold  in  its  grosser  forms  is  Africa, 
where  it  exerts  a truly  terrible  power  in  the  domestic,  social, 
and  even  political  life  of  the  people.  Its  vagaries  are  in- 
numerable. Where  it  holds  sway  it  pervades  all  human  ex- 
perience, and  curses  with  its  blighting  touch  the  whole  routine 
of  life.  It  is  an  ever  ready  instrument  of  persecution  and  re- 
venge, and  at  any  moment  may  become  a swift  and  fatal 
weapon  in  the  hands  of  suspicion.  It  is  often  made  an  engine 
of  torture,  and  in  the  service  of  impostors  is  an  unfailing 
agency  of  extortion.  It  has  had  a momentous  part  to  play  in 
politics  and  war,  and  has  been  the  favorite  tool  of  savage  des- 
pots. There  are  chapters  still  fresh  in  the  history  of  Western 
nations  which  reveal  the  ungovernable  and  resistless  power  of 
its  delusions  even  among  those  who  have  had  the  advantages 
of  enlightenment  and  civilization,  and  we  can  well  imagine 
what  must  be  the  cruel  records  of  its  sway  among  those  whose 
minds  are  darkened  and  pervaded  by  superstitious  fears. 


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123 


3,  Throughout  the  West  Coast  of  the  African  Continent 
the  arts  of  witchcraft  are  prevalent.  It  is  supposed  by  some 
of  the  native  tribes  that  a man  may  turn  himself  into  an  ani- 
mal and  in  that  form  may  injure  his  enemy.  At  Port  Lokkoh, 
as  reported  by  Bishop  Ingham,  of  Sierra  Leone,  a man  was 
burned  in  1854  for  having,  as  it  was  thought,  changed  himself 
into  a leopard.  Among  the  Buie  of  West  Africa,  east  of 
Batanga,  the  master  in  the  arts  of  witchcraft  is  known  as  ngee. 
He  is  supposed  to  be  able  to  kill  or  cure  at  will  and  to  have 
command  of  all  the  secret  forces  of  the  spirit  world.  Even 
to  look  upon  this  incarnate  terror  is  believed  to  cause  death, 
and  when  he  enters  an  African  village  all  the  women  and 
children  and  uninitiated  men  flee  as  for  their  lives.  He  exer- 
cises his  authority  at  will  over  his  victims.  Dr.  John  Leigh- 
ton Wilson,  formerly  a missionary  in  Africa,  and  the  author 
of  “ Western  Africa  : Its  History,  Condition,  and  Prospects, " 
a volume  which  was  pronounced  by  Dr.  Livingstone  to  be  the 
best  book  ever  written  on  that  part  of  Africa,  has  given  in  a 
brief  paragraph  the  results  of  his  observation. 

4.  Concerning  its  prevalence  in  Central  Africa , the  Rev. 

J.  S.  Wimbush,  of  the  Universities'  Mission,  writes:  “The 

practical  religion  of  the  natives  may  be  summed  up  in  the 
word  witchcraft.  Their  belief  in  the  supernatural  seems  to 
come  out  especially  in  times  of  calamity  of  any  kind,  as  war, 
sickness,  famine,  or  pestilence.  They  attribute  it  to  the 
power  of  an  evil  spirit,  but  also  believe  that  some  person 
among  themselves  has  induced  or  caused  the  evil  spirit  to  send 
it.  Having  fixed  on  some  person  or  persons  by  the  help  of  a 
wizard  or  witch-doctor,  the  accused  have  to  establish  their  in- 
nocence by  drinking  poison.  If  they  vomit  the  poison  they 
are  no  worse,  as  they  have  stood  the  ordeal  and  are  considered 
innocent.  If  the  poison  kills  them,  they  are  considered 
guilty  and  deserving  of  death."  Among  the  Mashonas,  the 
Matabele,  and  the  Kaffirs  the  belief  in  witchcraft  is  universal. 
So  powerful  has  been  its  influence  among  the  South  African 
tribes  that  it  has  been  an  historical  factor  of  considerable  in- 
fluence in  occasioning  war  and  regulating  the  attitude  of  the 
native  tribes  to  European  administration.  Wilmot,  in  his 
“Expansion  of  South  Africa,"  gives  an  account  of  a disaster 
in  1857,  when,  through  the  medium  of  witchcraft,  the  Kaffirs 
were  induced  to  destroy  their  cattle  as  an  expedient  for  defeat- 
ing the  British.  The  result,  as  stated  in  Mr.  Wilmot’s  vol- 


124  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CIIRISTIAN  WORLD 

ume,  was  the  death  from  starvation  of  seventy  thousand  na- 
tives. The  Government  of  Cape  Colony  has  found  it  so  dif- 
ficult to  overcome  the  subtle  and  all-powerful  thrall  of  witch- 
craft that  a Bill  has  been  introduced  quite  recently  in  the 
Legislative  Council  for  the  effective  suppression  of  its  in- 
fluence. It  is  known  as  “ The  Witchcraft  Suppression  Act, 
1895,”  and  is  truly  in  the  interest  not  only  of  good  govern- 
ment, but  of  native  progress  and  enlightenment. 

5.  Still  another  stronghold  of  sorcery  is  among  the 
Negroes  of  the  West  Indies , where  what  is  known  as  oheahism 
has  for  many  generations  exercised  a potent  sway  over  the 
imagination.  It  is  a species  of  witchcraft  by  which  a malign 
or  blighting  spell  is  supposed  to  rest  upon  the  victim  through 
the  instrumentality  of  an  obeah  man  or  woman.  So  powerful 
is  the  delusion  that  the  person  who  has  been  selected  seems  in- 
capable of  resisting  the  spell,  and  is  either  smitten  with  some 
secret  disease  or  pines  away  until  death.  The  obeah  thus  be- 
comes a secret  agency  for  working  injury  and  blighting  the 
life  of  its  victim.  In  his  volume  entitled  “ Cruising  Among 
the  Caribbees,”  Dr.  C.  A.  Stoddard  has  devoted  an  interest- 
ing chapter  to  this  subject.  Obeahism  has  been  very  preva- 
lent in  Jamaica  and  in  other  West  Indian  islands.  So  serious, 
moreover,  were  the  effects  of  these  superstitious  practices  that 
severe  laws  have  been  passed  against  them,  the  penalty  in  some 
instances  being  death ; yet  so  deeply  rooted  were  they  in  the 
credulity  of  the  people  that  no  legislation  has  been  able  to 
prevent  the  secret  resort  to  this  dismal  art.  In  the  islands  of 
the  Pacific  similar  delusions  have  prevailed.  This  has  been 
notably  the  case  in  Hawaii,  and  even  at  the  present  time  many 
natives  are  under  the  sway  of  sorcery.  By  the  instrumentality 
of  a kahunai  or  witch,  a person  is  supposed  to  be  able  to  pro- 
duce the  death  of  an  enemy,  and  even  the  advent  of  the 
i(  white  doctor”  has  not  been  able  wholly  to  deliver  the  na- 
tive mind  from  the  power  of  these  impostors,  as  has  been 
illustrated  during  the  recent  visitation  of  Asiatic  cholera. 

6.  The  Rev.  William  Wyatt  Gill,  in  his  “ Life  in  the 
Southern  Isles,”  reports  a curious  device  known  as  a “ soul- 
trap  f which  he  discovered  among  the  so-called  “ sacred 
men  ” of  Danger  Island.  By  means  of  this  trap  the  sorcerer 
was  supposed  to  be  able  actually  to  obtain  possession  of  the 
soul,  which  when  once  entangled  in  its  meshes  could  be  hurried 
off  to  the  shades  of  the  spirit  world  and  served  up  as  a dainty 


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125 


morsel  at  a mystic  feast  of  spiritual  cannibalism.  u It  would 
then  be  speedily  known  throughout  the  island  world  that  so- 
and-so  had  lost  his  soul,  and  great  would  be  the  lamentation.’ ’ 
The  sorcerer  must  thereupon  be  propitiated  by  elaborate  offer- 
ings, and  every  effort  made  to  induce  him  to  restore  the  cap- 
tured soul.  This  was  often  accomplished,  but  sometimes  it 
was  pronounced  impossible.  The  soulless  victim  would  then 
give  himself  up  to  despair  and  fall  a prey  to  such  profound 
mental  distress  that  he  would  eventually  die.  In  New  Guinea 
and  the  New  Hebrides  we  have  accounts  of  similar  uses  of 
sorcery,  or  witchcraft,  for  the  same  base  designs.  Their 
sorcerers  would  claim  the  power  of  life  and  death,  health  and 
sickness,  and  seem  to  find  little  difficulty  in  exercising  it. 
The  black  art  known  as  nahak  is  reported  by  Dr.  Paton  to  be 
the  cause  of  most  of  the  bloodshed  and  terror  upon  Tanna. 
In  “ Cannibals  Won  for  Christ,”  by  the  Rev.  Oscar  Michel- 
sen,  the  author  writes  concerning  Tongoa,  of  the  New  Heb- 
rides group:  “ Every  village  had  its  sacred  man,  who  was 
sometimes  a chief.  He  undertook  many  functions,  sacrificing 
to  the  spirits  to  avert  their  anger  on  behalf  of  sick  persons, 
and  practicing  kaimasi  (a  kind  of  witchcraft)  to  compass  the 
evil  or  bring  about  the  death  of  obnoxious  individuals  ” 
(p.  1 19). 

7.  Even  in  the  more  civilized  countries  of  the  Orient  we 
find  a lively  belief  in  the  arts  of  witchcraft.  So  impressive 
have  been  the  evidences  of  demon  possession  in  China  that  a 
distinguished  missionary,  after  a residence  of  forty  years  in 
that  empire,  has  written  a large  volume  upon  “ Demon  Pos- 
session and  Allied  Themes,”  chiefly  based  upon  what  he  has 
observed  among  the  Chinese,  and  upon  information  which  he 
has  gathered  from  India,  Japan,  and  other  lands.  The  evi- 
dence which  he  brings  forward  in  support  of  the  theory  of  the 
actual  fact  of  demon  possession  in  China  is  sufficiently  start- 
ling and  curious,  whatever  may  be  the  correct  interpretation 
of  it.  Unhappily,  the  victims  of  supposed  possession  are 
often  treated  with  shocking  barbarity,  cases  of  which  are  men- 
tioned by  Dr.  Christie.  At  all  events,  the  Chinese  are  pro- 
foundly under  the  influence  of  the  system  known  as  fung-shui , 
which,  although  regarded  as  a capital  crime  according  to  the 
Sacred  Edict,  is  one  of  the  mightiest  forces  in  the  social  life 
of  the  people.  The  profession  of  fortune-teller  is  common, 
and  the  constant  consultation  of  these  diviners  is  a favorite  ex- 


126  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


pedient  of  the  people.  In  Japan  the  belief  in  demon  posses- 
sion is  found  among  the  Ainu . I?i  Korea  the  exorcism  of 
spirits  has  the  dignity  of  a profession.  In  India , especially  in 
the  Native  States,  a considerable  belief  in  witchcraft  still  pre- 
vails, although  throughout  the  peninsula  as  a whole  severe  re- 
straint is  put  upon  all  cases.  In  Siam  and  Laos  the  usual  re- 
sort in  the  event  of  sickness  is  to  the  spirit-doctor,  that  through 
him  it  may  be  ascertained  whose  spirit  it  is  that  is  causing  the 
trouble.  The  unfortunate  victim  of  illness  is  often  punished 
unmercifully  to  compel  him  to  tell  who  it  is  that  is  the  author 
of  his  affliction.  If  in  his  delirium  or  excitement  some  name 
is  mentioned,  possibly  that  of  his  best  friend,  the  evidence  is 
regarded  as  sufficient,  and  the  culprit  is  warned  that  he  must 
flee  for  his  life.  It  is  unnecessary,  however,  to  give  further 
instances  of  the  melancholy  sway  of  these  spiritual  delusions 
and  the  piercing  sorrows  that  they  bring  to  their  superstitious 
victims. 

Neglect  of  the  Poor  and  Sick. — i.  Tenderness  and 

sympathy  in  the  presence  of  suffering  are  characteristic  of 
Christian  rather  than  no n-  Christian  society.  Even  the  most 
cultured  heathen  nations  of  antiquity  seem  to  have  been  lack- 
ing in  those  refined  sensibilities  which  are  so  distinctively  the 
insignia  of  Christianity.  We  search  in  vain  among  barbarous 
races  for  any  sustained  manifestation  of  that  humane  spirit 
which  instinctively  seeks  to  relieve  distress  and  minister  to  the 
necessities  of  the  helpless  and  afflicted.  The  heart  of  the 
world  when  untouched  by  Christian  sentiment  has  always  been 
singularly  callous  to  the  appeal  of  weakness  and  suffering. 
Christ  has  taught  with  the  force  of  a new  revelation  the  pre- 
cious mission  of  sympathy  and  the  sacred  duty  of  healing.  The 
consciousness  of  kinship  and  the  instinctive  promptings  of  nat- 
ural affection  have  in  varying  degrees  exerted  their  influence 
among  all  peoples,  in  some  instances  with  results  far  more 
marked  than  in  others.  In  the  case  of  individuals,  families, 
and  tribes  striking  exceptions,  no  doubt,  may  be  noted,  which 
reveal  unusual  tenderness  of  heart  and  kindly  habits  in  the 
treatment  of  dependents.  As  a rule,  however,  the  heartless 
attitude  of  the  non-Christian  world  in  the  presence  of  distress 
and  helplessness,  especially  outside  the  bonds  of  kinship,  has 
ever  been  a sad  commentary  upon  “ the  brotherhood  of  man.” 
The  fact  that  this  is  in  many  instances  due  to  ignorance,  in- 
competence, and  lack  of  facilities,  or  is  the  result  of  misdirected 


THE  SOCIAL  GROUP 


127 


efforts  prompted  by  superstitious  notions,  while  it  in  a measure 
excuses  the  fault,  does  not  alleviate  the  miseries  of  the  victims. 

2.  In  some  countries,  as,  for  instance,  Japan,  the  social 
disorganization  attendant  upon  the  transition  from  an  old  to  a 
new  order  may  be  largely  responsible  for  the  failure  to  care 
properly  for  those  in  distress.  According  to  the  old  feudal 
system,  the  suzerain  lord  was  responsible  for  the  welfare  of  all 
his  retainers;  but  this  custom  has  now  passed  away,  and  as 
yet  no  adequate  substitute  has  been  incorporated  in  the  new 
social  regime.  There  is  at  the  present  time  great  need  of 
charitable  organizations  in  Japan . The  poor  are  sadly  neg- 
lected, as  well  as  the  many  lepers,  and  although  hospitals  and 
charitable  institutions  are  being  established,  it  is  to  be  hoped 
that  the  Japanese  will  soon  institute  more  systematic  and  ade- 
quate provision  for  their  dependent  classes. 

3.  In  other  countries  much  of  this  neglect  is  the  result  of 
sheer  ignorance  or  incapacity  to  meet  the  emergencies  which 
arise,  or  it  may  be  due  to  dependence  upon  resources  suggested 
by  superstition,  which  are  not  only  utterly  useless,  but  in  many 
instances  aggravate  the  sufferings  of  the  victim.  The  idea  that 
sickness  is  the  result  of  sin  and  so  an  infliction  of  the  gods,  or 
an  evidence  of  the  displeasure  of  demons,  as  we  have  previously 
noted,  prevails  to  a great  extent.  The  recourse  is  therefore 
not  to  curative  expedients,  but  rather  to  sacrifices  with  a view 
to  appeasing  the  evil  spirits.  In  Assam,  for  example,  a long 
process  of  inane  experiment  is  necessary  to  ascertain  the  cause 
of  illness.  Usually  the  method  of  discovery  is  through  the 
breaking  of  eggs,  and  the  revelation  comes  through  some  oc- 
cult sign,  which  is  as  meaningless  as  it  is  absurd. 

4.  In  India  the  superstitious  reverence  for  the  Ganges  has 
induced  the  custom  of  exposing  the  sick,  especially  those  who 
are  supposed  to  be  fatally  ill,  upon  the  banks  of  the  river. 
The  practice  arises  from  motives  partly  devout  and  partly 
benevolent,  with  a view  to  conferring  benefit  upon  the  person 
thus  exposed,  as  death  upon  the  banks  of  the  sacred  river  is 
supposed  to  secure  a speedy  entrance  into  heaven.  The  whole 
subject  is  carefully  and  fully  treated  by  Wilkins,  whose  in- 
formation is  derived  almost  entirely  from  Hindu  sources. 
The  custom  was  far  more  prevalent  in  the  past  than  it  is  at 
present.  When  missionaries  first  entered  India  the  scenes  on 
the  banks  of  the  Ganges  presented  a panorama  of  horrors . 
The  helpless  and  suffering  were  placed  there  to  die,  fre- 


128  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


quently  with  their  mouths  and  ears  filled  with  mud,  by  friends, 
who  thus  sought  to  secure  their  speedy  death  in  proximity  to 
those  sacred  waters.  In  spite  of  the  supervision  of  the  present 
Government  of  India,  the  old  customs  have  not  as  yet  entirely 
disappeared.  Many  other  instances  could  be  given  illustrat- 
ing the  baneful  results  of  mistaken  ideas  as  to  the  nature  of 
illness  and  the  methods  of  cure.  The  neglect  thus  induced 
by  superstition  and  ignorance  is  not,  therefore,  a clear  indica- 
tion of  heartless  cruelty,  but  may  be  the  result  of  sheer  inca- 
pacity to  provide  a proper  remedy. 

5.  There  are  still  other  cases  of  neglect  resulting  from  a 
failure  to  carry  into  practice  theories  and  acknowledged  obli- 
gations which  if  duly  recognized  and  executed  would  relieve 
much  suffering  and  misery.  In  Chma , for  example,  there  is 
a code  of  charity  having  both  a religious  and  social  basis,  but 
it  is  largely  inoperative  through  willful  neglect  and  indiffer- 
ence. Its  stimulus  is  mainly  the  desire  of  obtaining  merit  as 
the  reward  of  good  works,  and  where  this  stimulus  is  suffi- 
ciently vigorous  much  may  be  done,  but  if  the  craving  for 
merit  grows  cold  the  good  works  lapse  into  inactivity.  There 
are  scattered  here  and  there  homes  and  asylums  for  the  aged, 
the  friendless,  the  orphans,  and  the  incapable,  but  side  by 
side  with  these  institutions  we  find  much  shocking  callousness 
to  suffering.  In  many  sections  of  China,  however,  there  are 
no  hospitals,  dispensaries,  or  charitable  institutions,  and  the 
afflicted  classes  are  left  to  the  most  awful  sufferings.  Cases  of 
cruel  neglect  arise  from  the  lack  of  any  suitable  provision  for 
the  insane,  or  from  the  dread  of  contact  with  loathsome  dis- 
eases, or  on  account  of  superstitious  fear  of  the  presence  and 
intervention  of  evil  spirits.  The  insane  are  often  confined 
and  chained  under  circumstances  of  shocking  misery,  while 
the  sick,  if  homeless,  are  transported  from  doorway  to  door- 
way, since  it  is  the  legal  custom  to  hold  a man  responsible  for 
the  funeral  expenses  of  a stranger  dying  at  his  gate,  and  he  is, 
moreover,  exposed  to  blackmail  under  such  suspicious  circum- 
stances. 

In  Korea  an  instance  is  recorded,  in  a recent  communica- 
tion from  a missionary,  in  which  a sick  man  was  hurriedly 
transported  from  village  to  village  for  a period  of  five  days, 
without  food,  the  inhabitants  of  each  village  fearing,  in  case 
he  should  die  within  its  precincts,  “ that  his  spirit  would  re- 
main to  haunt  them  and  work  them  mischief/* 


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129 


6.  Aside,  however,  from  the  instances  already  mentioned, 
there  are  numberless  cases  of  neglect  of  the  poor  and  the  sick 
which  are  the  result  of  pure  heartlessness,  and  are  productive 
of  harrowing  sufferings.  The  aged  are  cast  out  to  die  or  ex- 
posed to  wild  beasts  or  to  the  lingering  ravages  of  starvation. 
Cases  of  desperate  illness  or  contagious  diseases  are  left  with- 
out attention  or  the  victims  are  consigned  in  some  secluded 
place  to  their  fate.  In  many  lands  lepers  are  utter  outcasts, 
without  sympathy  or  care,  and  in  some  instances  are  put  to 
death.  “Lepers  and  people  suffering  from  unpleasant  dis- 
eases are  usually  destroyed/'  writes  the  Rev.  G.  M.  Lawson, 
of  the  Universities'  Mission  to  Central  Africa.  The  blind 
and  deformed  must  shift  for  themselves.  The  poor  are  indeed 
friendless,  and  can  only  hope  to  prolong  their  lives  as  they 
are  able  to  beg  for  sustenance.  Not  infrequently  the  sick  and 
the  aged  are  cruelly  killed,  in  some  instances  by  being  buried 
alive.  This  last  crime  has  been  practiced  in  the  case  of 
lepers,  lunatics,  and  also  infants,  who  among  some  degraded 
races  are  buried  alive  in  case  the  mother  dies.  While  it  is  not 
customary  in  China  actually  to  bury  children  alive,  yet  what 
is  hardly  less  cruel  is  all  too  common.  In  case  of  the  serious 
illness  of  an  infant,  it  is  placed  on  one  side  pending  the  issue. 
If  death  ensues,  it  is  cast  into  the  street,  to  be  picked  up, 
carried  off  in  a cart,  and  taken  to  a common  pit  outside  the 
city  walls.  References  confirmatory  of  these  statements  could 
be  multiplied,  but  the  facts  are  so  notorious  that  there  is  no 
necessity  for  other  than  general  statements  concerning  them. 

Uncivilized  and  Cruel  Customs. — i.  The  social  habits 
of  heathenism  referred  to  in  previous  sections  have  cer- 
tainly not  been  lacking  either  in  barbarity  or  in  cruelty. 
There  remain,  however,  some  customs,  not  as  yet  mentioned, 
which  are  beyond  question  cruel,  and  others  which  if  judged 
by  the  standards  of  a true  civilization — such  as  a consensus  of 
the  average  culture  of  Christendom  would  sanction  and  en- 
force— must  be  designated  as  indecent  and  uncivilized,  if  not 
brutal.  It  is  not  sufficient  to  say  in  challenging  this  state- 
ment that  many  of  these  customs  are  regarded  as  unobjection- 
able by  those  who  practice  them.  This,  if  true,  only  indi- 
cates faulty  standards  of  civilization  and  shows  that  they  need 
a thorough  reconstruction.  Civilization  is  much  more  than  a 
local  subjective  code  which  any  barbarian  can  determine  for 
himself.  The  mere  fact  that  he  is  a barbarian  renders  him  in- 


130  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


competent  to  fix  the  standards  of  social  order  and  refinement. 
Civilization  is  the  matured  product  of  intellectual  culture  and 
material  progress  formed  under  the  guiding  influence  of  reli- 
gion, morality,  decency,  justice,  brotherhood,  knowledge, 
science,  industrial  enterprise,  and  the  inventive  genius  of 
man.  Its  goal  is  prosperity,  peace,  happiness,  and  the  high- 
est good  of  the  race.  Its  code  consists  of  those  principles, 
laws,  and  customs  which  have  become  regulative  among  the 
enlightened  nations  of  the  earth,  and  have  been  drawn  from 
the  higher  and  purer  sources  of  morality  and  culture.  The 
elevating  and  fixing  of  refined  standards  of  civilization  is  an 
achievement  which  cannot  be  surrendered  at  the  dictum  of  a 
less  civilized  society,  nor  levelled  down  to  coincide  with  the 
views  and  traditions  of  those  peoples  who  have  not  yet  passed 
the  stage  of  barbarism.  Civilization  at  is  best  must  rather 
be  maintained  and  cherished  as  a helpful  incentive  and  guid- 
ing standard  to  communities  which  are  still  in  a state  of  ar- 
rested development,  under  the  power  of  blinding  ignorance  or 
degrading  custom. 

2.  The  specific atiojis  which  seem  to  call  for  notice  under 
this  general  head  of  uncivilized  and  cruel  customs  are  such  as 
foot-binding,  barbarous  and  filthy  manners,  uncleanness  in 
person  and  habits,  lack  of  domestic  privacy,  insufficient 
clothing  of  the  body,  promiscuous  bathing,  disgusting  pecul- 
iarities in  diet,  abominable  dances  and  orgies,  ascetic  cruel- 
ties, and  heathenish  burial  rites. 

3.  The  process  of  foot-binding  has  been  accurately  de- 
scribed by  Miss  Adele  M.  Fielde,  long  a resident  of  China, 
in  her  “ Pagoda  Shadows.”  The  suffering  inflicted  is  no 
doubt  most  distressing  and  in  some  cases  intense.  Taking  all 
China  together,  it  is  estimated  that  “ probably  nine- tenths  of 
the  women  have  bound  feet.  ’ ’ The  origin  of  the  practice  seems 
to  be  obscure.  It  was  first  known  in  the  imperial  household 
during  the  T‘ang  dynasty.  It  is  said  to  have  been  adopted 
as  a disguise  to  natural  deformity.  At  present  it  is  a tool  of 
vanity,  and  has  been  made  an  arbitrary  sign  of  respectability. 
It  was  not  known  in  the  classical  period,  and  made  its  ap- 
pearance about  fourteen  hundred  years  after  the  time  of  Con- 
fucius. It  cannot  therefore  be  said  to  have  the  sanction  of 
the  Chinese  sages.  It  has,  however,  so  firmly  established 
itself  in  Chinese  society  that  the  emperors  themselves  have 
been  unable  to  dislodge  it.  No  Manchu  lady,  it  is  said,  binds 


THE  SOCIAL  GROUP 


131 


her  feet,  and,  strange  to  say,  “the  Empress  of  China  and  the 
highest  ladies  of  the  imperial  court  allow  their  feet  to  grow  to 
their  natural  form  and  size.  Foot-binding  is  therefore  in  de- 
fiance of  imperial  example.  ” 

Dr.  Henry  is  of  the  opinion  that  “ any  persistent  attempt 
on  the  part  of  the  Government  to  interfere  with  the  practice 
would  probably  lead  to  rebellion.”  Dr.  Talmage,  of  Amoy, 
has  expressed  his  opinion  that  foot-binding  is  one  great  cause 
of  the  prevalence  of  infanticide  in  China,  and  this  opinion  is 
confirmed  by  a statement  made  by  the  Rev.  F.  P.  Gilman.  It 
is  a hopeful  sign  of  the  passing  of  this  deplorable  custom  that 
in  connection  with  Christian  enlightenment  the  powerful 
persuasions  of  Christianity  are  beginning  to  undermine  its 
social  status,  and  that  Anti- Foot- Binding  Societies  are  now  a 
recognized  feature  of  Christian  missions  in  China. 

4.  It  is  not  worth  while  to  describe  in  detail  the  filthy  habits 
and  the  unclean  ways  of  the  heathen  world.  It  is  as  a rule 
unkempt,  malodorous,  and  monotonously  repulsive.  There 
are  exceptions,  of  course,  in  every  land,  and  many  instances 
of  cleanly  ways  and  refined  instincts,  which  only  serve  to 
make  more  offensive  the  habits  of  the  multitude.  In  some 
cases,  as,  for  example,  among  the  better  class  of  Japanese, 
there  is  exceptional  cleanliness  of  person ; yet  even  in  Japan 
we  find  the  Ainu,  whose  habits  are  especially  objectionable. 
As  a rule,  however,  heathenism  in  its  more  savage  haunts  sits 
in  squalor,  filth,  and  imperturbable  dirtiness.  A description 
of  the  Karens,  given  by  one  who  resides  among  them,  might 
serve  for  many  other  places  where  the  statements  would  be 
equally  applicable. 

5.  The  question  of  clothes  is  one  upon  which  Christian 
civilization  has  a very  firm  and  pronounced  opinion.  What- 
ever variety  and  adaptability  there  may  be  in  the  styles  of 
clothing  in  different  countries,  the  person  should  be  decently 
covered,  and  this  surely  is  not  the  case  as  yet  among  most 
savage  races.  Among  semi-civilized  peoples,  and  even  within 
the  precincts  of  civilization,  there  are  customs  in  dress  which 
are  certainly  not  prompted  by  the  truer  instincts  of  refinement. 
For  a race  as  advanced  as  the  Japanese  their  habits  in  this 
respect  are  open  to  criticism.  That  they  do  not  recognize  the 
indecorum  of  the  customs  which  prevail  among  them  is  to 
their  discredit,  and  until  there  is  a decided  change  in  Japa- 
nese ways  the  influence  of  such  laxity  cannot  but  be  degrading 


132  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


to  the  social  life  of  the  people.  It  is  noticeable  that  Japa- 
nese Christians  “ at  once  become  more  careful  about  exposing 
the  person,  even  among  themselves.”  A missionary  writes: 
“ It  must  in  truth  be  said  that  there  is  now  in  Japan  much 
less  nudity  than  there  used  to  be,  but  there  is  room  for  great 
and  immediate  improvement  upon  present  customs.” 

6.  In  connection  with  scantiness  of  clothing,  the  idea 
seems  to  have  prevailed  from  ancient  times  that  tattooing  and 
a graceless  overloading  with  ornaments  must  supplement  the 
lack  of  clothing.  The  tattooing  process  is  often  most  elabo- 
rately grotesque  and  hideous,  as  is  the  case  among  the  Chins 
of  Burma,  the  Maoris,  and  the  island  populations  of  the  East 
Indies  and  the  South  Seas.  In  its  complete  and  fantastic 
forms  it  produces  corrugated  ridges  of  flesh  protruding  in  the 
shape  of  ugly  and  irregular  designs,  turning  the  face,  which  is 
usually  selected  for  the  highest  exhibition  of  the  art,  into  a 
shocking  caricature  of  the  human  features.  Tattooing  is  known 
also  in  Japan,  India,  Formosa,  Africa,  and  among  the  Indian 
tribes  of  North  and  South  America.  The  clumsy  and  even 
painful  profusion  of  barbaric  ornaments  worn  upon  the  lips, 
nose,  ears,  neck,  and  other  parts  of  the  person  is  one  of  the 
signs  of  savagery  which  only  the  refining  power  of  Christian 
enlightenment  is  able  to  banish. 

7.  Promiscuous  bathing , as  in  Japan , with  all  due  allow- 
ance for  what  may  be  said  in  justification  of  it  as  an  imme- 
morial custom,  and  granting  that  it  should  not  be  regarded  as  a 
manifest  indication  of  immorality  or  even  of  indelicacy  among 
the  Japanese,  is  yet  a habit  which  they  will  inevitably  aban- 
don as  they  become  more  responsive  to  the  spirit  of  a sensitive 
and  refined  civilization.  In  other  countries  it  is  very  rarely 
tolerated,  or  if  practiced  at  all,  is  recognized  as  objectionable 
and  something  to  be  concealed. 

8.  In  the  matter  of  diet , while  there  is  much  that  is  repul- 
sive in  almost  every  land,  yet  nothing  seems  quite  so  loath- 
some as  the  carrion -eating  of  the  low  castes  and  outcastes  in 
India.  Dr.  Uhl,  an  American  Lutheran  missionary  at  Gun- 
tur, writes : “ The  non-caste  people  have  the  foul  and  physic- 
ally defiling  habit  of  eating  the  carcasses  of  animals  which  have 
died  from  disease  and  which  often  are  but  a little  departure 
from  carrion.  The  results  are  seen  in  the  puffy  nature  of  the 
face  and  body  of  those  who  unceasingly  follow  this  habit,  and 
in  their  passionate  nature.” 


THE  SOCIAL  GROUP 


133 


9.  The  prevalence  of  abominable  dances , marked  by  wild 
and  unnatural  orgies,  is  characteristic  of  savage  life.  These 
dances  are  sometimes  inspired  by  the  spirit  of  war.  Again, 
they  are  religious,  or  they  are  festal  and  social  in  their  charac- 
ter. In  many  instances  they  are  obscene  revels,  and  present 
temptations  which  no  savage  nature  is  able  to  resist.  In  de- 
scribing one  of  these  performances  in  Micronesia,  the  Rev. 
Francis  M.  Price  speaks  of  it  as  “a  most  subtle  device  of 
Satan,  and  his  most  powerful  weapon,  doing  far  more  harm 
than  all  the  wars  and  other  evils  combined.  It  is  exciting, 
furnishes  the  only  opportunity  that  their  natural  vanity  has  for 
expressing  itself  in  decorating  the  body,  and  is  licentious 
through  and  through.0  A similar  incident  in  Africa  is  com- 
mented upon  by  Mr.  George  D.  Adamson,  a missionary  among 
the  Bakete  in  the  Congo  State. 

10.  Ascetic  cruelties  have  been  referred  to  in  a previous 
section,  where  self-torture  was  under  consideration.  Eastern 
asceticism  is  often  accompanied  by  gross  features,  stamping  it 
with  a demoralizing  taint.  Besides  its  vulgar  character,  the 
cruel  nature  of  many  of  its  exhibitions  makes  it  a degrading 
and  hardening  spectacle  for  those  who  habitually  contemplate 
it.  It  prevails  extensively  in  India,  except  in  its  more  objec- 
tionable forms,  which  have  been  prohibited  by  law. 

11.  The  customs  associated  with  burial  services  are  often 
barbaric  and  deplorable.  A bereavement,  sad  and  dreary 
enough  in  itself,  becomes  the  occasion  of  extortion,  and 
involves  an  amount  of  expensive  ceremonialism  which  is  ex- 
tremely burdensome.  It  is  often  accompanied  by  rites  and 
ceremonies  which  are  debasing  in  their  character,  and  as  fre- 
quently it  presents  an  opportunity  for  outbursts  of  barbarous 
fanaticism  or  the  indulgence  in  wicked  orgies,  which  would 
be  objectionable  at  any  time,  but  become  shockingly  so  in  the 
presence  of  death.  In  fact,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and 
vivid  touches  of  the  religion  of  Christ  is  the  transformation  it 
works  in  the  presence  of  death.  There  is  hardly  a more  strik- 
ing manifestation  of  the  social  tendencies  of  Christianity,  as 
contrasted  with  those  of  heathenism,  than  that  which  is  re- 
vealed at  a Christian  funeral  when  compared  with  the  customs 
incidental  to  heathen  burial. 

12.  Miss  Adele  Fielde  writes  concerning  the  “Mortuary 
Customs”  of  China:  “ When  the  Chinese  wish  to  declare 
the  extreme  vexatiousness  of  any  piece  of  work,  they  say,  * It 


134  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


is  more  trouble  than  a funeral/  the  obsequies  of  a parent  be- 
ing reckoned  the  most  maddening  affair  in  human  experience. ” 
Chinese  burial  ceremonies  frequently  last  many  days,  and  are 
described  as  “ a ruinous  burden  to  the  poor,  since  relatives, 
friends,  and  strangers  all  crowd  in  and  fairly  eat  them  out  of 
house  and  home.”  As  regards  infant  burial  in  China,  it  is  a 
summary  proceeding,  usually  without  coffins,  if  indeed  any 
burial  is  attempted.  The  shocking  custom  of  leaving  babes 
unburied,  to  be  the  prey  of  dogs  or  other  animals,  is  all  too 
common.  Among  the  Parsis  of  India  burial  is  conducted 
with  great  decorum,  but  consists  in  placing  the  dead  body  in 
a “ Tower  of  Silence,”  which  is  an  enclosure  surrounded  by 
very  high  walls  and  open  to  the  sky.  It  is  the  home  of  vul- 
tures, which  swarm  in  its  vicinity  and  swoop  down  upon  the 
corpse  as  soon  as  it  is  deposited  within  the  tower.  In  an  in- 
credibly brief  time  nothing  is  left  but  the  skeleton.  This 
method  of  disposing  of  the  dead  seems  to  be  preferred  to  burial. 

13.  Among  the  more  savage  races  burial  ceremonies  are 
attended  with  the  most  debasing  customs.  It  is  well  if  the 
living  escape,  since  human  sacrifices  often  form  a ghastly 
feature  of  the  scene.  Funeral  rites  in  the  South  Seas  are  said 
to  beggar  description  “for  obscenity,  noise,  cruelty,  and 
beastly  exposure.”  Around  the  grim  realities  of  death  have 
clustered  innumerable  heathen  superstitions  that  often  lead  to 
strange  treatment  of  the  bodies  of  those  who  have  passed 
away.  Many  of  these  singular  customs  are  traceable  to  the 
belief,  universal  in  Polynesia,  that  the  soul  of  the  dead  person 
is  not  separated  at  once  from  the  body,  but  lingers  in  some 
state  of  mystic  alliance  with  it,  and  may  be  ministered  to  by 
the  living  relatives  of  the  deceased.  An  Oriental  funeral  is 
frequently  the  scene  of  wild  outbursts  of  grief,  no  doubt  often 
sincere  and  expressive  of  the  intense  bitterness  of  sorrow ; yet 
in  many  cases  the  well-known  fact  that  much  of  this  fanatical 
fury  and  noise  is  in  accordance  with  commonplace  custom 
rather  than  indicative  of  genuine  sorrow  deprives  it  of  its  im- 
pressiveness, and  turns  a funeral  occasion  in  not  a few  in- 
stances into  little  more  than  a ceremonial  function. 

Insanitary  Conditions. — The  science  of  modern  sanita- 
tion may  be  said  to  be  both  a creation  and  a sign  of  civiliza- 
tion, yet  even  in  the  most  enlightened  communities  proper 
arrangements  can  be  secured  only  by  the  oversight  and  pressure 
of  legal  authority. 


THE  SOCIAL  GROUP 


135 


1.  In  the  non- Christian  world,  where  neither  knowledge, 
custom,  public  spirit,  nor  legal  enactment  exerts  any  very  ef- 
fective influence  in  controlling  private  habits  or  guarding  com- 
mon interests  with  a view  to  sanitary  requirements,  the  whole 
matter  has  been  left  with  little  or  no  supervision.  Even  the 
crude  and  imperfect  arrangements  which  are  made  for  public 
and  domestic  sanitation  are  often  not  only  useless,  but  harm- 
ful. In  personal  as  well  as  domestic  habits  the  most  fright- 
fully filthy  and  abominable  customs  prevail,  and  carry  with 
them  the  penalties  of  defying  nature’s  laws. 

2.  Strange  to  say,  some  of  the  most  advanced  nations  of 
the  Orient,  as,  for  example,  India  and  China,  are  as  indiffer- 
ent as  the  most  barbarous  peoples  to  the  simplest  laws,  and 
even  the  ordinary  decencies,  of  a sanitary  code.  In  the  vil- 
lages of  India , and  also  in  the  large  centres  of  population, 
even  the  most  rudimentary  provision  for  proper  sanitation  is 
neglected,  while  the  most  unspeakable  desecration  not  only  of 
the  laws,  but  of  the  proprieties,  of  hygienic  living  exists. 
The  water  which  is  used  for  drinking  and  for  all  household 
purposes  is  almost  invariably  loaded  with  impurities  of  the 
most  loathsome  and  dangerous  character.  Sir  Richard  Tem- 
ple states  with  emphasis  that  impure  water  in  India  “ has  pro- 
duced more  physical  mischief  than  any  cause  whatsoever,  and 
perhaps  as  much  mischief  as  all  other  causes  put  together 
could  produce.”  At  the  Eighth  International  Congress  of 
Hygiene  and  Demography,  held  at  Budapest  in  1894,  the 
President  of  the  Tropical  Section,  Dr.  Theodore  Duka,  a sur- 
geon in  the  Indian  Army,  presented  an  address  on  “ Tropical 
Medicine,”  in  which  he  referred  in  some  detail  to  the  sanitary 
state  of  Indian  villages.  The  following  passage  is  sufficiently 
explicit  as  to  their  condition  : 

“It  is  almost  needless  to  enter  upon  a description  of  the 
sanitation  of  an  Indian  village,  for  there  is  a total  absence  of 
it.  The  huts  composing  the  villages  and  hamlets  are  erected, 
for  the  most  part,  on  flat  land  or  on  slightly  elevated  ground, 
exposed  to  the  scorching  sun  and  fiery  winds,  or  drenched  by 
rain.  The  people  drink  from  the  pond  in  which  they  bathe 
and  in  which  their  cattle  wallow,  surrounded  by  the  refuse  of 
their  daily  lives.  The  cattle  consist  of  cows  and  buffaloes, 
occasionally  of  goats,  donkeys,  and  pigs.  All  live  under  the 
same  roof  and  lie  upon  the  ground  beside  their  master  and  his 
family.  There  is  hardly  a window  or  an  opening  for  ventila- 


136  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CIIRISTIAN  WORLD 


tion.  The  dung-pit  is  not  far  from  the  well-water  supply, 
where  the  washing  of  clothes,  of  animals,  and  of  men  is  car- 
ried on  from  day  to  day ; and  the  women  provide  their  house- 
holds from  this  source  with  water  for  cooking  purposes  and  for 
drinking.  The  people  have  so  lived  for  centuries,  knowing 
and  apparently  caring  for  nothing  better.  ” Even  the  larger 
centres  of  population  are  no  better,  except  as  the  British  Gov- 
ernment, in  spite  of  enormous  difficulties,  enforces  sanitary 
regulations.  These  Government  provisions  for  the  public 
health  are  often  extremely  unwelcome  to  the  people,  and  are 
looked  upon  as  tyrannical  and  impertinent,  and  disregarded 
whenever  it  is  safe  to  do  so.  Even  in  the  city  of  Calcutta  the 
inf  ant  death-rate  under  one  year  of  age,  in  1894,  was  402  per 
1,000,  and  in  1893  it  was  415.  The  Health  Officer  of  the 
city  expresses  his  opinion  that  the  ‘ ‘ high  infantile  death-rate 
is  due  to  a want  of  knowledge  on  the  part  of  parents  as  to  the 
care  of  infants,  and  to  the  insanitary  conditions  of  the  house.” 
Indian  pilgrimages,  festivals,  and  enormous  concourses  at  the 
holy  places,  with  the  consequent  defilement  of  water  used  for 
both  bathing  and  drinking  by  the  multitude,  and  the  prevalent 
mortuary  customs,  are  also  large  counts  in  this  indictment  of 
polluted  India.  The  result  is  disease  and  suffering  to  an  ex- 
tent distressing  to  contemplate.  A missionary  writes  : “ In 
some  villages  [of  Ceylon],  chiefly  owing  to  the  filth  and  im- 
morality of  the  people,  there  is  hardly  a home  free  from  a 
painful  kind  of  sickness.  In  one  of  the  new  village  schools, 
out  of  sixty  children  present  only  two  were  free  from  sick- 
ness.” 

The  British  Govermnent  in  India  is  making  heroic  efforts 
to  remedy  these  evils.  Sanitary  Boards  are  established  and 
proper  provisions  for  public  health  are  being  pushed  as  rapidly 
as  possible.  In  the  Blue  Book  for  1894-95,  on  “The  Moral 
and  Material  Progress  and  Condition  of  India,”  interesting 
details  are  given  as  to  the  sanitary  undertakings  now  in  prog- 
ress, which  consist  chiefly  in  providing  pure  water-supply  for 
cities,  in  establishing  sewerage  schemes,  in  devising  rules  and 
regulations  with  reference  to  drainage,  in  the  prohibiting  of 
offensive  and  dangerous  nuisances,  and  disseminating  the 
knowledge  of  sanitary  rules  among  the  populace.  The  work 
of  the  sanitary  engineering  department  is  important,  and  the 
introduction  of  the  “Village  Sanitation  Act”  is  reported  in 
hundreds  of  villages.  Many  costly  and  splendid  plants  for 


THE  SOCIAL  GROUP 


137 


the  water-supply  of  important  cities  and  towns  are  referred  to 
as  having  been  completed,  as  in  Cawnpore,  Lucknow,  Delhi, 
and  smaller  places,  with  a high-level  reservoir  in  Rangoon. 
Others  are  reported  as  in  progress  throughout  the  British  prov- 
inces, with  important  drainage  schemes ; yet,  with  all  the  care 
and  oversight  which  the  British  Government  can  give  this  stu- 
pendous task,  the  statistics  as  to  the  death-rate  and  the  fatali- 
ties from  various  diseases  tell  with  painful  emphasis  how  much 
there  is  still  to  be  done.  The  year  1894  was  marked  by  an 
exceptionally  high  death-rate,  as  the  following  figures  reveal : 
from  dysentery  and  diarrhoea,  257,808  deaths,  as  against  196,- 
66 7 in  1893;  from  cholera,  521,647,  being  in  the  ratio  of  2.44 
per  1,000  of  population,  as  against  216,827  in  1893;  from 
fever,  4,952,328,  equal  to  23.23  per  1,000,  as  compared  with 
3,716,926,  or  17.44  in  1893.  The  total  number  of  successful 
vaccinations  during  1894-95  amounted  to  6,869,271.  The 
result  of  this  precautionary  measure  was  that  the  deaths  re- 
ported from  smallpox  were  only  41,604,  representing  a ratio 
of  0.19  per  1,000.  The  condition  of  the  Native  States,  and 
of  Farther  India,  including  Assam,  is  even  less  sanitary  than 
that  of  British  India. 

3.  China  is  notorious  for  the  entire  neglect  of  proper  sani- 
tation. There  is  even  a lively  rivalry  among  its  most  impor- 
tant cities  as  to  which  deserves  the  prize  for  surpassing  filthi- 
ness. Peking,  the  capital,  seems  to  be  by  no  means  an  un- 
worthy candidate  for  the  highest  laurels  in  the  contest,  and 
has  even  been  pronounced  by  competent  judges  as  the  dirtiest 
city  on  the  face  of  the  globe.  Mr.  Curzon’s  description  of 
an  entrance  into  the  Chinese  capital  is  graphic  in  its  realism. 

* 4 Above  all  other  characteristics  of  Peking ,”  says  Mr.  Nor- 
man, “one  thing  stands  out  in  horrible  prominence.  Not  to 
mention  it  would  be  willfully  to  omit  the  most  striking  feature 
of  the  place.  I mean  its  filth.  It  is  the  most  horribly  and 
indescribably  filthy  place  that  can  be  imagined;  indeed,  im- 
agination must  fall  far  short  of  the  fact.  Some  of  the  daily 
sights  of  the  pedestrian  in  Peking  could  hardly  be  more  than 
hinted  at  by  one  man  to  another  in  the  disinfecting  atmosphere 
of  a smoking-room.”  We  forbear  to  finish  the  paragraph. 

If  all  this  can  be  said  of  the  capital  of  the  empire,  what 
must  be  the  state  of  things  (if,  indeed,  there  is  any  possibility 
of  anything  worse)  throughout  the  thronging  cities,  towns,  and 
thickly  populated  provinces  of  the  great  imperial  cloaca  of  the 


133  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


Chinese  Empire  ! In  fact,  the  attempt  to  describe  the  sani- 
tary state  of  China  seems  to  exhaust  the  linguistic  capacities  of 
all  who  undertake  it.  The  impression  which  one  has  in  read- 
ing their  struggling  efforts  is  that  the  reality  is  literally  beyond 
description.  We  are  not  surprised,  therefore,  to  hear  of  the 
recent  plague  and  its  awful  ravages  in  Chinese  cities,  and  yet 
the  lesson  seems  to  be  quite  lost.  Dr.  S.  Wells  Williams 
has  described  in  several  places  his  impressions  of  the  noisome 
and  reeking  aspects  of  Chinese  cities.  The  testimony  in 
private  letters  from  residents  of  the  country  indicates  that  the 
China  of  to-day  is  no  improvement  upon  the  China  of  the  past. 
Japan  is  perhaps  the  cleanest  country  in  Asia,  yet  at  the  op- 
posite extreme  of  nauseating  defilement  is  its  neighbor  Korea. 

This  repulsive  story  of  slovenly  sanitation  could  be  con- 
tinued with  dismal  monotony  as  descriptive  of  the  status  in  all 
purely  Asiatic  countries.  In  fact,  the  annual  threat  of  cholera 
which  comes  in  connection  with  the  pilgrimage  to  Mecca,  and 
gathers  sufficient  cumulative  power  to  throw  a shadow  of 
danger  over  all  Europe,  is  a sharp  reminder  of  the  deadly  re- 
sults of  the  defiance  of  all  sanitary  laws.  We  could  still  trace 
in  Africa  and  the  isles  of  the  Pacific  the  signs  of  the  same  in- 
sanitary foulness  which  is  almost  universal  in  the  heathen 
world.  A striking  result  of  the  investigation  would  be  to  con- 
vince us  that  “ cleanliness  is  next  to  godliness/’  and  that 
Christianity,  in  cooperation  with  sanitary  regulations,  has  a 
cleansing  mission  of  colossal  magnitude  in  the  world. 

Lack  of  Public  Spirit. — i.  One  of  the  most  subtle  char- 
acteristics of  heathenism  is  the  absence  of  a humanizing  sym- 
pathy , that  is,  a sympathy  which  is  not  indifferent  to  human 
welfare.  In  its  social  relations  and  activities  this  broad  and 
generous  interest  in  the  common  good  is  known  as  public 
spirit.  Selfishness  is  a deep  and  regnant  law  in  non-Christian 
society.  Even  within  the  precincts  of  Christian  civilization 
an  interest  in  the  general  welfare  sufficiently  assertive  to  act  as 
a practical  stimulus  to  sacrifice  and  service  is  none  too  com- 
mon, and  is  recognized  as  a very  choice  and  noble  quality  in 
public  and  private  life.  Outside  of  Christendom  “ every  man 
for  himself”  is  the  rule  pretty  much  everywhere.  The  re- 
straints and  requirements  of  law  remedy  the  evil  results  of  this 
spirit  in  some  measure,  but  there  are  certain  respects  in  which 
it  is  left  wholly  free,  with  no  one  to  challenge  its  injurious 
tendencies.  It  is  this  heedless  unconcern  for  the  public  good 


THE  SOCIAL  GROUP 


139 


which  makes  nearly  every  street  in  the  villages,  larger  towns, 
and  cities  of  Asia  under  native,  as  distinguished  from  Euro- 
pean rule,  simply  an  elongated  cesspool  or  a common  dump- 
ing-ground of  filth,  breeding  disease  and  death. 

2.  It  is  this  universal  spirit  of  “ passing  by  on  the  other 
side”  and  refusing  to  recognize  the  obligations  of  neighbor- 
hood, much  less  of  common  humanity,  which  is  the  explana- 
tion of  such  absurd  and  shameful  rascality  as  often  character-  , 
izes  the  treatment  of  those  who  are  in  trouble  in  China . The 
Rev.  Arthur  Smith,  in  his  “ Chinese  Characteristics,”  re- 
marks: “ Unwillingness  to  give  help  to  others , unless  there  is 
some  special  reason  for  doing  so,  is  a trait  that  runs  through 
Chinese  social  relations  in  multifold  manifestations.  The  gen- 
eral omission  to  do  anything  for  the  relief  of  the  drowning 
strikes  every  foreigner  in  China.”  The  same  spirit  is  shown 
also,  as  he  further  remarks,  “in  a general  callousness  to  the 
many  cases  of  distress  which  are  to  be  seen  almost  everywhere, 
especially  along  lines  of  travel.  It  is  a common  proverb  that 
to  be  poor  at  home  is  not  to  be  counted  as  poverty,  but  to  be 
poor  when  on  the  highroad  away  from  home  will  cost  a man 
his  life.” 

A special  chapter  in  “Chinese  Characteristics”  is  entitled 
“The  Absence  of  Public  Spirit,”  in  which  many  instances  are 
given  revealing  the  indifference  to  the  common  welfare  which 
prevails  in  China.  In  the  original  edition  of  the  book,  pub- 
lished at  Shanghai,  is  a chapter  on  “The  Absence  of  Altru- 
ism,” which  has  been  omitted  in  the  American  edition.  Its 
contents  only  emphasize  the  subject  in  hand.  The  tendencies 
of  this  same  spirit  are  also  manifested  in  the  prevalent  habit  of 
trespass  upon  the  rights  of  the  weaker  members  of  society  by 
those  who  are  strong.  “ The  misery  of  the  poor  in  China  is 
their  poverty  and  their  inability  to  lift  themselves  out  of  it, 
since  if  they  cannot  do  it  themselves  it  will  not  be  done  at 
all.”  The  North  China  Herald , a prominent  journal  pub- 
lished at  Shanghai,  in  a recent  editorial  on  the  war  with 
Japan,  traces  the  weakness  of  China  to  the  latter’s  regnant 
selfishness.  Each  individual,  considering  only  his  own  inter- 
ests, is  indifferent  as  to  what  happens  to  his  neighbors  or  his 
country.  “ Patriotism , national  pride , esprit  de  corps  f it 
remarks,  “are  all  unknown,  and,  what  is  worse,  undesired  in 
the  Celestial  Empire.  . . . The  dynasty  may  be  over- 

thrown and  kings  may  come  and  kings  may  go,  but  so  long  as 


140  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


the  Chinese  official  can  continue  to  get  hold  of  the  dollar  he  is 
serenely  indifferent  to  any  crisis  which  may  be  convulsing  the 
political  world.” 

The  instinctive  egoism  of  primitive  savagery  still  pervades 
the  barbaric  life  of  the  present  day,  and  if  public  spirit  is  so 
slow  in  developing  even  in  the  atmosphere  of  the  highest  civi- 
lization, surely  we  cannot  expect  that  it  will  ripen  quickly  and 
yield  a generous  harvest  where  the  promptings  of  selfishness 
are  so  powerful  and  so  free  from  restraint. 

Mutual  Suspicion. — i.  Social  life  involves  such  a web 
of  personal  contact  and  interdependence,  and  is  so  based  upon 
general  confidence  between  man  and  man,  that  mutual  suspi- 
cion, if  it  prevails  to  any  extent,  becomes  a solvent  of  the  very 
bonds  which  link  society  together.  Public  confidence  is  only 
another  term  for  financial  and  industrial  stability.  Private 
confidence  of  man  in  man  is  the  secret  of  contentment  and 
security  and  an  essential  of  social  development.  Mutual 
suspicion  begets  timidity , and  prevents  that  frank  and  free  in- 
terchange so  necessary  to  prosperity  and  mutual  helpfulness. 
Distrust  is,  however,  one  of  the  most  universal  sentiments 
which  govern  the  intercourse  of  man  with  man  in  the  heathen 
world.  Men  fear  one  another  because  they  know  one  another, 
and  they  recognize  the  fact  that  there  is  ground  for  misgiv- 
ings. The  effect  is  depressing  and  paralyzing.  Every  one  is 
alert,  cautious,  and  on  the  defensive.  The  Chinese,  for  ex- 
ample, are  especially  suspicious ; the  Koreans  are  like  them  ; 
and  the  Japanese,  although  not  to  the  same  extent,  are  yet  wary 
and  watchful.  Some  ulterior  and  secret  motive  of  a dark  and 
scheming,  or  at  least  a doubtful,  character  is  usually  taken  for 
granted  by  Orientals  in  their  dealings  with  one  another.  It  is 
hard  for  them  to  believe  in  the  simplicity  and  genuine  disin- 
terestedness of  any  one.  Nothing  is  looked  upon  as  square, 
upright,  and  open  ; it  is  more  likely  to  be  crooked,  cunning, 
and  deceitful,  or  at  least  to  have  some  concealed  design.  The 
atmosphere  is  full  of  suspicions,  which  put  a painful  constraint 
upon  social  and  personal  relations,  and  add  immensely  to  the 
difficulties  of  frank  and  friendly  contact  with  one  another. 

2.  In  China  the  officials  are  mutually  distrustful,  perhaps 
with  good  reason,  since  each  one  either  knows  or  suspects 
that  the  other  is  a rascal.  The  Tsung-li  Yamen  eye  one 
another  with  caution  and  reserve,  and  they  all  look  upon  the 
foreigner  with  the  most  lively  distrust.  No  mandarin  can  be 


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141 


seen  with  a foreigner,  or  accept  his  hospitality,  without  imme- 
diately falling  under  grave  suspicion.  Sinister  designs  and 
portentous  conspiracies  are  always  in  the  air,  and  it  is  this 
deep-rooted  distrust  and  hatred  which  make  the  life  of  the  for- 
eigner so  full  of  insecurity  in  China.  The  effect  of  this  gnaw- 
ing suspicion  is  especially  manifest  in  Chinese  domestic  life 
and  in  all  relations  between  the  sexes.  The  real  reason  for 
any  course  of  action  is  rarely  accepted  as  the  true  one.  If 
another  is  not  apparent,  one  must  be  invented.  The  Rev. 
Arthur  Smith,  writing  upon  “ Mutual  Suspicion  ” in  “Chi- 
nese Characteristics”  (chap,  xxiv.),  gives  many  illustrations 
to  indicate  the  spirit  of  Chinese  intercourse.  They  seek  pro- 
tection from  one  another,  and  are  continually  on  guard  lest 
they  should  be  taken  by  surprise.  The  wondrous  and  mis- 
chievous character  of  Chinese  gossip  arises  largely  from  the 
morbid  intensity  of  their  suspicions.  Chinese  family  life  is 
often  clouded  and  irritated  by  this  inveterate  distrust.  A 
stranger  in  a Chinese  village  gives  occasion  for  the  most  lively 
solicitude  as  to  who  he  is,  what  his  business  is,  and  what  he 
purposes  to  do.  If  he  arrives  after  dark  he  will  often  find  that 
no  one  will  come  out  of  the  house  to  meet  or  direct  him.  The 
effect  of  this  temper  in  society  is  to  render  it  exceedingly  dif- 
ficult to  establish  any  new  enterprise  or  undertake  anything 
which  is  out  of  the  ordinary  line.  Something  dark  and  dread- 
ful must  be  back  of  it  all  in  the  opinion  of  the  wary  China- 
man. 

3.  In  India  it  is  exceedingly  difficult  for  natives  to  coop- 
erate with  one  another  on  account  of  mutual  distrust.  Even 
philanthropic  effort  is  often  misunderstood  and  viewed  with 
suspicion.  In  Persia  the  role  of  deceit  and  venality  has  be- 
come so  commonplace  that  the  people  have  lost  all  confidence 
in  one  another.  Among  savages  in  the  South  Seas  there  is 
constant  apprehension  of  evil  designs  on  the  part  of  some  one. 
They  live  a life  of  disquietude,  and  the  shadow  of  distrust 
clouds  every  relationship.  Says  Dr.  Chalmers,  in  “ Work  and 
Adventure  in  New  Guinea”:  “The  state  of  fear  of  one 
another  in  which  the  savage  lives  is  truly  pitiful.  To  him 
every  stranger  seeks  his  life,  and  so  does  every  other  savage.” 
In  Africa  it  is  difficult  to  convince  a native  that  any  one  dies 
a natural  death,  so  prevalent  is  the  suspicion  of  evil  designs. 
Poisoning  is  so  much  feared  that  the  people  are  exceedingly 
loath  to  eat  in  one  another's  houses.  Even  the  kings  and 


142  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


chiefs  are  accustomed  not  to  touch  their  food  until  either  the 
one  who  has  cooked  it,  or  others  appointed  for  the  purpose, 
have  partaken  of  it.  It  is  not  at  all  uncommon  for  one  who 
gives  food  to  another  to  eat  part  of  it  himself  in  order  to  prove 
that  it  contains  nothing  hurtful.  The  African  Kaffir  “ breathes 
an  atmosphere  of  suspicion  and  jealousy  in  which  freedom  can- 
not live.”  “We  never  trust  one  another/’  remarked  one  of 
the  Hovas  to  a recent  correspondent  of  The  Times  (London) 
in  Madagascar , and  the  same  statement  might  be  made  by  a 
man  of  almost  any  Asiatic  or  African  nationality.  The  social 
effect  of  these  brooding  misgivings  is  to  make  mutual  inter- 
course reserved,  constrained,  and  wary,  while,  on  the  other 
hand,  frank  and  open  confidence  gives  assurance,  courage,  and 
cheerfulness  to  men,  and  adds  to  the  happiness  and  prosperity 
of  society. 

Poverty. — i.  The  problem  of  poverty  is  an  old  one  in 
the  economic  life  of  man.  The  struggle  to  live  has  been  cease- 
less. Slowly  and  surely  man  has  added  other  resources  to  the 
ordinary  products  which  nature  supplies  for  his  support,  and 
has  utilized  her  forces  and  cultivated  her  fructifying  powers 
for  his  maintenance  and  comfort.  The  great  difference  be- 
tween the  abundant  economic  harvests  of  modern  material 
civilization,  so  fruitful  in  provisions  for  human  needs,  and  the 
pinched  and  meagre  resources  of  early  civilization,  is  due  in 
large  part  to  man’s  power  over  nature  and  his  ability  to  subsi- 
dize her  capabilities  and  extract  her  hidden  wealth.  The  be- 
lated civilization  of  the  non-Christian  world  is  still  in  various 
stages  of  ignorance  and  incompetence  as  regards  the  mastery 
over  nature  and  the  intelligent  use  of  her  productive  capaci- 
ties. This  is  especially  true  so  far  as  the  modern  industrial 
plant  is  concerned,  and  all  those  processes  of  developing  and 
utilizing  nature’s  generous  resources  which  have  been  brought 
about  by  the  inventive  genius  and  the  economic  enterprise  of 
modern  times. 

2.  This  backward  status  is  due  not  only  to  ignorance  and 
the  disabilities  of  primitive  environment,  but  to  the  working 
of  oppression  and  injustice,  on  the  one  hand,  and,  on  the 
other,  to  the  influence  of  prejudice,  obstinacy,  inertia,  pride, 
incapacity,  shiftlessness,  the  power  of  custom,  and  general 
heedlessness  as  to  better  modes  of  living.  The  result  is  that 
an  awful  status  of  poverty  has  weighted  a large  section  of 
heathen  society,  and  holds  it  prostrate  in  helpless  and  hopeless 


THE  SOCIAL  GROUP 


143 


indigence.  Dependence  upon  agricultural  and  pastoral  re- 
sources, even  if  man  escapes  the  ravages  of  war  and  pillage,  is 
destined  as  population  increases  either  to  become  a scant  reli- 
ance or  to  fail  altogether,  so  that  the  history  of  uncivilized 
man,  and  even  of  races  with  tolerably  advanced  methods,  has 
been,  and  is  still,  often  marked  by  a long  and  desperate  strug- 
gle for  livelihood  or  in  many  instances  even  for  a meagre  sub- 
sistence. 

Christia?iity  as  an  agency  for  the  teaching  of  saving  moral 
principles,  the  production  of  a higher  order  and  system  in  life, 
the  cultivation  of  broader  intelligence,  the  humanizing  of  law, 
the  protection  of  property  rights,  the  introduction  of  science, 
the  establishment  of  philanthropy,  the  awakening  of  aspira- 
tion, the  kindling  of  hope,  and  the  heralding  of  a new  and 
progressive  era  among  uncivilized  man,  has  a truly  helpful  mis- 
sion in  the  material  betterment  of  society.  In  cooperation 
with  commerce,  economic  science,  and  modern  industrial  fa- 
cilities, it  will  do  much  to  mitigate  the  sorrows  of  poverty,  and 
provide  a remedy  for  the  suffering  and  despair  which  penury 
produces  among  races  where  there  is  little  or  no  relief  from  its 
grinding  miseries. 

3.  Where  the  struggle  for  the  support  of  life  is  intense  and 
prolonged,  yielding  at  best  only  a sustenance,  and  often  only 
the  daily  bread  necessary  to  sustain  life,  with  now  and  then  a 
temporary  failure  which  threatens  starvation,  as  is  the  case  in 
China,  and  would  be  still  in  India  were  it  not  for  governmental 
assistance,  poverty  becomes  a social  evil  of  portentous  and 
gloomy  import.  It  puts  society  into  a state  of  distress  and 
helplessness,  in  which  life  becomes  a desperate  and  exhausting 
slavery  to  daily  need.  This  struggle  for  existence  may  contain 
in  an  important  sense  the  potency  of  evolutionary  progress, 
but  after  it  has  gone  on  for  centuries  with  little  revelation  of 
its  power  to  alleviate  and  benefit,  one  longs  for  some  outside 
help  from  a source  which  will  give  a new  impetus  to  life,  bring 
more  hope  and  security,  provide  more  sane  and  effective  reme- 
dies, and  lift  the  shadows  of  despair. 

4.  This  is  one  of  the  many  reasons  why  the  introduction 
of  Christianity  and  modern  civilization  into  China,  and  in 
fact  throughout  the  non-Christian  world,  is  a noble  and  be- 
neficent undertaking.  Once  introduced  there,  it  will  become 
a saving  power,  as  it  has  been  in  Christendom  ; not  that  it  will 
at  once  banish  poverty,  but  that  it  will  provide  many  remedial 


144  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


forces  and  introduce  many  alleviating  instrumentalities.  It 
will  at  least  give  a helping  hand  to  many  who  in  their  extremity 
are  now  without  aid.  It  will  tend  also  to  break  up  that  colos- 
sal system  of  pauperism  which  is  incidental,  more  or  less,  to 
all  false  religious  systems,  and  is  so  burdensome  to  the  people, 
under  the  guise  and  sanction  of  priestly  requirement,  cere- 
monial obligation,  or  ascetic  practice.  Half  the  pauperism  of 
the  non-Christian  world  is  religious,  and  a large  section  be- 
sides makes  its  plea  in  the  name  of  religion,  and  so  plays  upon 
superstitious  fears  as  to  gain  a ready  hearing  and  impose  large 
exactions.  In  this  connection,  however,  we  are  not  concerned 
so  much  with  the  explanation  of  this  state  of  poverty  as  with 
the  reality  and  extent  of  its  existence  and  its  social  results. 

5.  India  is  perhaps,  more  than  other  non-Christian  lands, 
the  home  of  poverty.  This  is  due  to  the  immense  population, 
which  has  increased  for  centuries  within  the  fixed  geographical 
limits  of  the  peninsula,  taxing  its  agricultural  resources  to  the 
utmost.  At  the  same  time  a burden  of  social  and  religious 
customs,  far  more  expensive  than  the  people  can  support,  has 
rested  upon  them.  The  result  of  this  two  fold  impoverishment 
has  been  the  most  grinding  poverty  among  almost  the  entire 
rural  population  of  India. 

If,  as  sometimes  happens,  the  rains  fail,  and  with  them  the 
harvests,  the  people  are  plunged  into  the  extremities  of 
famine.  No  more  pathetic  and  dreadful  scenes  of  starvation 
have  been  witnessed  than  those  which  characterized  some  of 
the  great  famines  of  Indian  history.  Even  as  late  as  the 
famine  of  1868-70  in  Rajputana  1,250,000  people  perished. 
A century  or  so  ago  there  were  famines  which  destroyed 
millions  of  the  people.  Mr.  John  Eliot,  in  a recently  pub- 
lished volume  on  Indian  Famines,  states  that  there  have  been 
seventeen  within  one  hundred  and  twenty-two  years.  The 
total  mortality  of  these  calamities,  extending  over  centuries, 
is  something  appalling.  In  1832-33,  Madras,  one  of  the  dis- 
tricts affected,  lost  from  150,000  to  200,000  inhabitants  out 
of  a total  population  of  500,000.  In  1837,  in  Upper  India 
there  were  at  least  800,000  victims.  In  1860-61,  in  the 
Northwest  Provinces  and  the  Punjab,  500,000  human  beings 
perished.  In  1865-66,  in  Orissa  alone  1,000,000  people 
died  out  of  a total  population  of  3,000,000.  These  awful 
visitations  have  greatly  increased  the  prevalence  of  leprosy 
throughout  India.  The  Leprosy  Commission  in  1890-91 


A Typical  Group  from  one  of  the  Indian  Hill  Tribes. 
Victims  of  an  Indian  Famine,  Madras,  1877. 

Scenes  in  India. 


THE  SOCIAL  GROUP 


145 


expressed  the  conviction  that  “ the  greater  the  poverty  of  a 
district,  the  more  prone  the  latter  is  toward  leprosy. ” It  is 
also  one  of  the  causes  of  child  labor,  so  detrimental  at  the 
tender  age  at  which  it  is  exacted  by  so  many  of  the  poor  in 
India. 

The  British  Government  has  now  established  a system  of 
famine  relief,  or  rather  prevention,  which  makes  past  scenes 
of  suffering  no  longer  possible ; but  it  cannot,  of  course,  do 
more  than  save  the  people  from  extremities.  As  regards  their 
condition  of  poverty , it  is  still  distressing.  The  rule  among 
the  vast  agricultural  population  of  the  Indian  villages  is  that 
they  live  upon  what  is  sufficient  for  sustenance,  or  little  more. 
A careful  estimate  based  upon  the  census  shows  that  there  are 
multitudes  who  have  not  more  than  from  six  to  twelve  rupees  a 
year  for  support.  The  mean  annual  income  of  the  people  of 
India  is  from  twenty  to  twenty-seven  rupees,  equivalent  at  the 
present  rates  of  silver  in  India  to  about  six  or  eight  dollars. 

Among  the  resolutions  offered  and  passed  at  the  Indian 
National  Congress  of  Madras,  1894,  was  one  bearing  upon 
the  problem  of  poverty,  introduced  by  Mr.  Seymour  Keay, 
M.  P.,  in  which  it  was  urged  that  “ this  Congress,  concurring  in 
the  views  set  forth  in  previous  Congresses,  affirms  that  fully 
50,000,000  of  the  population,  a number  yearly  increasing,  are 
dragging  out  a miserable  existence  on  the  verge  of  starvation, 
and  that  in  every  decade  several  millions  actually  perish  by 
starvation ; and  humbly  urges  once  more  that  immediate  steps 
be  taken  to  remedy  this  calamitous  state  of  affairs. ” Sir 
William  Hunter  is  authority  for  the  statement  that  40,000,000 
(that  is,  about  one-sixth  part  of  the  population  of  India)  go 
through  life  upon  insufficient  food.  The  address  of  Mr.  Keay 
in  support  of  the  resolution  is  full  of  startling  statements  as  to 
the  deep  social  misery  which  Indian  poverty  inflicts  upon  the 
people.  Dr.  Uhl,  in  an  account  of  a missionary  tour  in  1895, 
in  which  he  visited  one  hundred  and  eight  Indian  villages, 
speaks  of  the  poverty  of  the  people  as  “ a bondage  killing  the 
soul.”  The  subject  has  been  fully  and  ably  treated  in  a very 
recent  volume  entitled  “The  Poverty  Problem  in  India,”  by 
Prithwis  Chandra  Ray,  published  in  Calcutta.  He  states  sub- 
stantially the  same  facts  that  have  been  given  above.  At  the 
present  time  (November,  1896)  a serious  famine  seems  immi- 
nent in  the  Central  and  Northwest  Provinces.  The  Govern- 
ment is  already  opening  relief  works,  and  with  the  greatly 


146  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


increased  railway  facilities  of  the  country  at  its  command,  can 
with  energy  and  promptitude  do  much  to  alleviate  the  distress. 

6.  In  the  teeming  Empire  of  China , with  all  its  vast  natural 
resources,  its  extensive  agricultural  labors,  the  industry  and 
frugality  of  its  people,  there  is  still  a state  of  poverty  widely 
prevalent,  which  threatens  the  immediate  destruction  of  vast 
multitudes  in  case  there  is  the  slightest  failure  in  ordinary 
production.  The  Rev.  Timothy  Richard , of  Shanghai,  re- 
marked at  a public  meeting  in  Peking,  October  18,  1895,  that 
“ there  has  been  deep  poverty  and  intense  suffering  in  China 
for  years  ” ; and  he  estimates  that  “ from  three  to  four  millions 
die  every  year  of  hunger.”  Instructive  facts  are  also  given 
by  the  same  author  in  a powerful  article  on  “ China’s  Ap- 
palling Need  of  Reform.”  In  the  midst  of  their  poverty, 
when  distress  deepens,  no  temporary  financial  relief  can  be 
obtained,  except  at  an  exorbitant  rate  of  interest,  stated  by 
Mr.  Richard  to  be  at  least  thirty  per  cent.,  and  sometimes 
reaching  one  hundred  per  cent.  He  traces  to  the  exigencies 
of  poverty  the  recurring  attempts  at  rebellion  and  the  forma- 
tion of  so  many  secret  societies.  He  refers  to  the  fact  that 
the  name  of  Pharaoh  is  execrated  because  he  threatened  the 
extinction  of  two  or  three  millions  of  the  children  of  Israel, 
while  in  China  “ there  is  a greater  number  actually  starved 
every  year,  and  ten  times  that  number  exterminated  every  ten 
years.” 

In  an  article  by  the  Rev.  A.  G . Jones , of  the  English 
Baptist  Mission,  on  “The  Poverty  of  Shantung:  Its  Causes 
and  Treatment,”  after  referring  to  the  poverty-stricken  con- 
dition of  the  great  mass  of  the  population  of  that  province, 
amounting  in  all  to  30,000,000,  the  bearing  of  this  fact  upon 
their  social  status,  and  its  influence  as  a hindrance  to  all 
progress,  he  proceeds  to  show  that  this  status  is  in  part  due  to 
the  excessive  proportion  of  economic  expenditure  necessary  for 
the  support  of  a Chinaman,  as  compared  with  that  which  ob- 
tains in  Western  nations.  The  rent  of  his  land  (the  article 
refers  especially  to  Shantung  Province)  is  eight  or  nine  per 
cent,  on  its  value,  as  compared  with  three  per  cent,  in  Great 
Britain,  France,  and  Germany.  The  money  which  he  borrows 
on  his  land  as  security  costs  him  about  twenty-two  per  cent, 
annual  interest,  while  in  England  it  can  be  obtained  at  an 
annual  interest  of  from  four  to  five  per  cent.  His  land  yields 
ordinarily  about  ten  bushels  of  wheat  an  acre,  or  in  the  very 


THE  SOCIAL  GROUP 


147 


best  years  about  thirteen  and  a quarter,  as  compared  with 
twenty-eight  bushels  to  the  acre  in  England.  While  recog- 
nizing the  fact  that  natural  causes  have  something  to  do  with 
the  existence  of  poverty,  he  considers  that  their  influence  is 
small  as  compared  with  other  causes  which  are  in  large 
measure  preventable.  He  names  as  chief  among  these  igno- 
rance, especially  of  the  methods  of  industrial  success,  the 
hampering  power  of  superstition,  the  prevalence  of  trickery 
and  injustice,  the  extortions  of  the  Government,  especially  the 
“squeezing”  which  results  from  the  system  of  farming  the 
taxes,  the  existence  of  bad  roads,  making  distribution  and  ex- 
change of  commodities  difficult,  costly,  and  slow,  cumbrous 
currency,  and  extortionate  rates  of  interest,  combined  with 
antiquated  appliances  and  slovenly  management.  An  inter- 
esting aspect  of  the  paper  referred  to  treats  of  the  bearing  of 
missionary  labors  in  their  broader  results  as  in  a large  and 
true  sense  remedial  in  their  workings  even  in  the  realm  of 
economic  life. 

In  his  volume  on  “ The  Real  Chinaman,”  Mr.  Chester  Hol- 
combe has  a chapter  on  “The  Poor  in  China,”  in  which  he 
remarks  that  the  status  of  poverty  there  differs  from  that  of 
Western  lands  in  that  it  usually  means  “ actual  hunger  and 
nakedness,  if  not  starvation  within  sight.”  He  describes  in 
considerable  detail  the  condition  of  the  Chinese  poor  and  the 
extent  of  their  extremity.  The  Rev.  Paul  Bergen,  of  Chefoo, 
China,  in  a recent  article  refers  to  the  distressing  poverty  of 
the  people  as  one  of  the  great  difficulties  of  missionary  work. 
The  facts  previously  stated  go  far  to  explain  the  frequency  and 
seriousness  of  Chinese  famines . They  may  come  either  as  the 
result  of  a flood  or  of  a scant  grain-supply,  or  may  be  produced 
by  any  one  of  many  contingencies.  “ China's  Sorrow  ” is  the 
title  of  a chapter  by  Mr.  R.  S.  Gundry  in  his  recent  volume 
on  China.  The  reference  is  to  the  Yellow  River  and  the  fear- 
ful devastation  of  its  floods.  Mr.  Gundry’s  volume  has  in- 
structive chapters  on  the  progress  and  resources  of  China. 
These  famines  are  so  common  that  only  great  calamities  attract 
attention  and  obtain  notice.  “Ten  millions  in  one  province 
of  China,”  writes  Dr.  March,  “ perished  for  want  of  food  and 
from  diseases  that  follow  in  the  wake  of  famine.  A slight 
change  in  the  rainfall  for  a single  season  will  at  any  time  strew 
the  fields  and  pathways  of  the  East  with  the  skeletons  of  mul- 
titudes who  die  of  want  and  of  the  pestilence  which  comes  to 


148  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


glean  in  the  fields  where  death  has  already  gathered  the  har- 
vest of  millions  of  sheaves  and  left  nothing  but  stubble  be- 
hind.0 Even  in  ordinary  times  the  desolations  of  a unher- 
alded, almost  unnoticed,  famine  attain  the  magnitude  of  a 
calamity.  Poverty  is  the  cause,  no  doubt,  of  the  throngs  of 
beggars  who  roam  through  China  in  their  rags  and  filth  and 
desperate  wretchedness.  Truly  one  of  the  social  miseries  of 
China  is  its  poverty. 

7.  In  Korea , although  there  is  widespread  poverty,  strange 
to  state  there  is  said  to  be  no  beggar  class  as  in  China,  owing 
to  the  generous  disposition  of  the  people  to  aid  one  another. 
Korean  hospitality  is  proverbial.  These  kindly  customs  open 
the  door  to  grave  abuses,  and  the  well-to-do  are  forced  into 
positions  where  they  are  obliged,  whether  willing  or  not,  to 
help  the  improvident,  who  are  not  lacking,  also,  in  a readiness 
to  impose  upon  kindness.  The  causes  of  Korean  poverty  are 
stated  by  Mr.  Hillier,  the  British  Consul-General  at  Seoul,  and 
are  summarized  in  The  Messenger  of  Shanghai. 

8.  In  Japan  the  struggle  for  existence  is  strenuous,  although 
poverty  is  hardly  more  general  than  in  Western  lands.  A re- 
cent Japanese  newspaper  has  called  attention  to  the  fact  that 
suicide  has  greatly  increased  of  late,  as  high  as  ten  thousand 
cases  a year  having  been  reported.  The  same  authority  traces 
this  fact  to  the  greater  intensity  of  the  struggle  for  life,  in 
view  of  the  increased  cost  of  living  connected  with  the  intro- 
duction of  Western  civilization.  It  is  reported  that  the  poor 
are  becoming  more  numerous  throughout  Japan  than  was  the 
case  under  the  old  regime.  In  Persia  there  is  much  pitiful 
destitution,  while  in  poor  Turkey , as  the  result  of  the  cruel 
policy  of  the  present  Sultan,  there  is  a reign  of  agony  and  de- 
spair which  appeals  to  the  charities  of  the  world. 

9.  In  Africa  the  same  story  of  poverty  has  been  written 
large  in  the  history  of  savage  tribes,  with  the  dire  7?iiseries  of 
famine  recurring  at  frequent  intervals.  The  poor  people  seem 
to  have  been  swept  off  by  the  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands, 
in  circumstances  of  suffering  which  cannot  be  depicted.  Even 
now  there  are  the  same  ever-recurring  experiences  in  different 
sections  of  the  vast  continent,  as  in  Bechuanaland  and  Swazi- 
land at  the  present  moment.  The  terrible  famine  in  Bondei 
and  Usagara  has  only  just  ceased  from  its  ravages.  “ A party 
of  eight  hundred  natives,0  writes  the  Rev.  Godfrey  Dale, 
under  date  of  April  14,  1895,  “ had  started  for  the  coast  to 


THE  SOCIAL  GROUP 


1491 


seek  food  and  work,  but  every  one  perished  on  the  road.”  In 
the  Pacific  Islands,  the  West  Indies,  Mexico,  and  South  Amer- 
ica there  is  much  extreme  and  hopeless  poverty. 

io.  The  result  of  our  survey  is  only  to  confirm  the  saying 
of  Christ,  u Ye  have  the  poor  always  with  you,”  which  is  true 
of  all  lands,  even  those  where  wealth  abounds  and  the  best 
civilization  which  the  world  has  yet  known  is  found.  The 
pertinence  of  placing  this  subject  among  the  social  evils  of  the 
non-Christian  world  arises  from  the  severity  and  extent  of  the 
poverty  which  exists,  the  misery  it  causes,  the  social  depres- 
sion it  produces,  and  the  pathetic  appeal  it  makes  for  the  in- 
troduction of  such  remedies  as  Christianity  and  civilization 
can  offer  to  alleviate  the  sorrows  of  the  poor. 

The  Tyranny  of  Custom. — i.  Customs  are  conven- 
tional methods  of  living  and  acting  according  to  established 
precedents,  which  have  the  power  of  habit  and  are  generally 
recognized  and  observed  throughout  the  community.  These 
laws  of  life  include  social  manners,  political  methods,  eco- 
nomic habits,  and  religious  observances.  They  exert  their 
control  not  only  in  the  sphere  of  practical  living,  but  extend 
their  influence  to  the  realm  of  thought  and  feeling.  They 
arise  spontaneously,  follow  the  leadings  of  instinct  in  their  de- 
velopment, and  become  the  accepted,  cherished,  often  revered, 
rules  and  methods  of  social,  civil,  and  religious  habit.  They 
control  conduct  with  varying  power.  In  some  cases  they  rule 
with  despotic  sway  ; in  others  their  demands  may  be  somewhat 
relaxed.  In  all  Oriental  lands  they  exert  a wide,  exacting,  and 
even  fatalistic  power.  They  wield  the  sceptre  of  arbitrary 
dominion  over  all  life.  They  tyrannize  with  an  imperious 
and  resistless  sway,  and  hold  their  supreme  authority  from  one 
generation  to  another  with  undiminished  rigor.  They  assume 
over  the  life  and  thought  of  the  East  a governing  and  proscrip- 
tive power  which  is  most  impressive  in  its  mastery,  so  that 
they  must  be  reckoned  with  as  a mighty,  conservative,  and  de- 
termining force  in  all  efforts  to  introduce  social  changes  or  re- 
ligious reforms.  They  exercise  a function  which  seems  to 
combine  constitutional,  legislative,  judicial,  and  executive 
powers  in  one  comprehensive  control  of  all  phases  of  life  and 
all  points  of  contact  between  man  and  man,  and  even  between 
man  and  the  material  universe  around  him,  or  the  Supreme 
Power  above  him. 

2.  The  East  has  so  learned  this  lesson  of  reverence  for  and 


150  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


obedience  to  customs  that  those  which  are  evil  and  detrimental 
have  just  as  firm  a hold  upon  men  as  those  which  are  good 
and  useful.  An  established  custom  becomes,  therefore,  the 
open  sesame  of  every  otherwise  closed  door.  It  is  the  arbiter 
of  dispute ; it  gives  the  word  of  command ; it  pronounces  a 
verdict  from  which  there  is  no  appeal ; it  surmounts  difficulty 
and  it  settles  destiny ; it  deals  kindly  with  all  who  submit  to 
its  decree,  but  it  subdues  and  crushes  all  who  venture  to  call 
in  question  its  wisdom  or  defy  its  authority. 

3.  It  is  evident  that  a social  force  of  such  binding  and  de- 
cisive power  may  be  of  great  benefit,  or  it  may  work  untold 
injury.  Unfortunately,  in  the  non-Christian  world  custom  is 
at  many  crucial  points  the  greatest  hindrance  to  social  progress. 
It  sanctions,  establishes,  and  enforces  that  which  is  to  the 
infinite  injury  of  society,  and  has  the  power  to  oppose  itself 
strenuously  to  all  reform,  and  to  stay  the  progress  of  all  change 
for  the  better.  The  tyranny  of  custom  is  therefore  a fact  of 
immense  social  import.  It  weighs  heavily  against  Christianity, 
against  civilization,  against  all  social  reform  and  useful  prog- 
ress, and  is  usually  bitterly  hostile  to  the  entrance  of  liberal 
views  and  enlightened  methods,  opposing  with  singular  tenacity 
the  establishment  of  more  cleanly,  refined,  and  in  every  respect 
sane  standards  of  living.  It  is  exceedingly  difficult  for  those 
who  are  accustomed  to  Occidental  independence  of  thought 
and  action  to  realize  the  smiting  and  tyrannizing  power  of 
custom  in  the  conservative,  restricted  social  life  of  the  East. 
It  is  especially  difficult  to  understand  the  irrepressible  sway  of 
customs  in  themselves  narrowing,  retarding,  dehumanizing, 
and  detrimental  in  their  tendencies.  The  giant  system  of 
caste  in  India  is  an  illustration.  The  customs  of  child  mar- 
riage, of  enforced  widowhood,  of  sati,  of  ascetic  barbarities, 
of  degrading  superstitions,  of  inane  ceremonies,  and  of  many 
other  objectionable  features  of  Indian  life,  are  all  of  a kind 
which  one  would  think  easy  to  overthrow  when  a better  way 
was  shown  ; but,  on  the  contrary,  the  observance  of  the  whole 
inflexible  routine  of  custom  is  the  very  point  of  strenuous  in- 
sistence. It  is  the  breach,  not  the  observance,  of  the  custom 
which  brings  ignominy,  sorrow,  and  social  ostracism. 

4.  So  in  the  vast  social  organization  of  conservative  China , 
from  the  state  functions  of  the  Emperor  to  the  binding  of  the 
tender  feet  of  some  child  victim,  this  dominance  of  customs  is 
manifest.  They  cluster  around  birth,  marriage,  and  death; 


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151 


they  determine  the  downsitting  and  uprising  of  all  China; 
they  regulate  the  eating,  drinking,  and  visiting ; they  dictate 
domestic,  social,  commercial,  industrial,  political,  and  re- 
ligious manners  and  observances.  A Chinese  must  even  be  ill 
according  to  custom,  and  when  he  sins  he  must  at  least  avoid 
the  crowning  and  unpardonable  impertinence  of  presuming  to 
sin  in  some  unusual  way.  Finally,  when  he  dies  custom  seizes  j 
him  in  its  iron  grip,  and  he  goes  to  his  ancestors  with  the  con- 
ventional funeral  ceremonies  which  have  been  the  torment  and 
sorrow  of  the  living  for  centuries. 

5.  It  would  be  impossible  and  altogether  unnecessary  to 
undertake  to  review  in  detail  the  innumerable  predilections 
and  practices  which  hold  sway  in  non-Christian  society,  to  its 
detriment  and  degradation,  since  they  have  already  occupied  a 
large  share  of  our  attention.  There  are  customs,  to  be  sure, 
which  are  excellent  and  deserve  to  be  perpetuated  ; but  in 
many  cases,  usually  where  the  tyranny  is  most  exacting,  they 
are  a heritage  of  sorrow  and  misery,  bringing  with  them  bur- 
dens heavy  to  bear,  and  hindrances  to  progress  difficult  to 
overcome.  What  we  are  concerned  to  note  just  here  is  the 
tyrannical  sway  of  their  influence  in  society , their  power  to 
shut  out  the  guiding  light  of  truth  and  to  stay  the  transforming 
entrance  of  a higher  and  nobler  civilization.  We  shall  have 
something  to  say  elsewhere  of  missions  as  a power  singularly 
effective  in  the  gradual  disintegration  and  final  overthrow  of 
the  despotic  authority  of  evil  customs. 

Caste. — 1.  The  social  system  known  as  caste,  a word  sup- 
posed to  be  derived  from  casta , the  Portuguese  term  for  race, 
is  so  prominent  and  important  a feature  of  Hindu  society  that 
its  consideration  fixes  our  attention  almost  exclusively  upon 
India.  Social  distinctions  have  existed  more  or  less  among  all 
races.  They  are  found  in  classic  and  medieval  society,  where 
they  are  the  outcome  either  of  family  rank  or  political  station, 
or  are  based  upon  the  grade  and  character  of  occupation. 
Trade  guilds  were  known  in  the  Roman  Empire,  and  also  in 
medieval  Europe.  Such  social  distinctions,  if  based  upon 
qualities  which  deserve  recognition  and  respect,  are  inevitable, 
and  do  not  necessarily  involve  injustice,  extinguish  brother- 
hood, or  destroy  the  natural  and  friendly  intercourse  of  man 
with  man.  The  peculiarity  of  the  Hindu  system,  however,  is 
that  it  creates  and  insists  upon  mutually  exclusive  orders  or 
ranks  of  humanity,  involving  an  inexorable  status  of  “ repul- 


152  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


sion  between  man  and  man,”  and  that  this  conception  is  car- 
ried to  an  extreme  which  produces  among  the  higher  castes  an 
estimate  of  the  lower — and  especially  of  all  outcastes — which 
accords  them  a position  hardly  superior,  if  indeed  equal,  to 
that  of  the  brutes.  The  whole  system  thus  becomes  simply  an 
artificial  and  arbitrary  device  for  exalting  one  social  class  and 
degrading  another,  upon  the  basis  of  purely  imaginary  distinc- 
tions so  far  as  our  common  humanity  is  concerned. 

2.  The  origin  of  caste  is  involved  in  some  obscurity.  It  is 
the  opinion  of  Dr.  John  Muir,  a distinguished  student  of  San- 
scrit literature,  and  of  Professor  Max  Muller,  that  in  its  remote 
origin  it  is  based  upon  differences  of  race,  color,  and  occupa- 
tion. The  fact  that  the  vernacular  names  by  which  the  caste 
system  is  known  in  the  various  languages  of  India  are  those 
which  signify  race,  color,  and  occupation,  and  are  usually 
fatalistic  in  their  meaning,  goes  to  support  this  view.  While 
this  may  be  the  true  view  of  the  remoter  origin,  it  seems  cer- 
tain that  the  caste  system  as  developed  in  India  is  the  creation 
of  Hinduism  at  the  hands  of  the  Brahmans  or  their  immediate 
predecessors  known  by  the  similar  title  of  Rishas.  It  is  thus  a 
product  of  Brahmanical  legislation,  and  in  its  developed  form 
may  be  regarded  as  an  evolution  culminating  in  a giant  system 
of  ranks  and  orders,  in  which  humanity  is  separated  and 
labelled,  and  to  each  is  given  a fixed  place  in  the  social 
organism.  These  distinctions  are,  for  the  most  part,  based 
upon  religious,  military,  literary,  social,  and  industrial  asso- 
ciations. 

3.  It  is  therefore  in  its  original  conception  a scheme  of 
social  and  religious  classification  with  a view  to  establishing 
and  fixing  once  for  all  a system  of  inflexible  allotment,  which 
involves  at  one  and  the  same  time  cohesion  and  separation, 
firmly  uniting  some  members  of  the  community,  and  rigorously 
excluding  others.  It  provides  for  a perpetual  system  of  social 
segregation,  not  only  on  the  basis  of  heredity,  but  as  a method 
of  classified  absorption  of  every  foreign  element  which 
in  future  generations  might  become  a part  of  the  Indian 
social  system  through  conquest  or  assimilation.  No  one  can 
doubt  that  it  was  an  inherent  feature  of  the  original  concep- 
tion to  designate  the  supreme  place  in  the  social  system  to  the 
Brahman,  and  regulate  all  the  rest  of  society  upon  a sliding 
scale  of  relative  inferiority  to  him,  his  rank  being  virtually 
divine  in  its  superiority  and  dignity.  This  supremacy  of  the 


THE  SOCIAL  GROUP 


153 


Brahman  was  not,  however,  actually  secured  without  a severe 
struggle. 

4.  It  may  be  true,  as  Mr.  Bhattacharya  contends  in  his 
“ Hindu  Castes  and  Sects  ” (an  author  to  whom  I would  ex- 
press my  indebtedness  for  much  valuable  information  upon 
this,  to  the  ordinary  lay  intelligence,  complex  and  inchoate 
subject),  that  the  originators  of  the  caste  system  were  not, 
consciously  at  least,  conspirators  against  the  welfare  and 
happiness  of  society,  nor  were  they  able  to  foresee  the  aniazing 
and  ramifying  influence  for  evil  which  it  was  destined  to  exert. 
In  fact,  this  learned  student,  who  has  treated  his  theme  with 
admirable  system  and  clearness,  is  inclined  to  credit  its  authors 
with  “large-hearted  statesmanship  ” in  designing  such  a facile 
instrumentality  for  keeping  every  one  in  his  place  in  the  social 
scale.  He  is,  indeed,  free  to  acknowledge  that  “ the  ambition 
that  led  the  Hindu  lawgivers  to  place  their  own  class  above 
the  rest  of  mankind  has  no  doubt  an  appearance  of  selfishness 99 
(p.  s).  He  stoutly  contends,  however,  that  they  were  surely 
moved  by  a most  benevolent  and  liberal  spirit.  Be  this  as  it 
may,  the  truth  remains  that,  both  religiously  and  socially,  the 
Brahman  claims  a monopoly  of  power  and  an  eminence  of  po- 
sition which  have  solidified  into  the  most  extravagant  canoni- 
zation, and  even  deification,  of  humanity  as  represented  in  his 
person,  which  history  presents,.  Not  only  the  substance,  but 
even  the  very  shadow,  of  the  Brahman  is  sacred.  As  they 
were  historically  the  authors  of  the  developed  system,  so  they 
have  remained  the  most  prominent  representatives  of  the  caste 
idea.  They  illustrate  its  tendency,  and  reveal  in  their  charac- 
ters and  claims  the  ultimate  results  of  its  workings,  which  are 
seen  in  all  other  castes  as  well  as  in  this  supreme  one.  In  its 
own  place  each  caste  is  a typical  product  of  the  system,  and 
in  many  respects  presents  hardly  less  marked  evidence  than 
that  found  in  the  Brahmans  themselves  of  its  powerful  impress 
upon  the  social  character.  The  system  presents  perhaps  the 
most  complete  example  of  power  over  human  will  and  action 
that  can  be  found  in  the  history  of  mankind,  not  excepting 
religion  or  governmental  despotism. 

5.  Religion,  even  though  it  has  controlled  the  higher  life 
and  moulded  the  character  and  aims  of  men  in  accordance 
with  moral  standards,  has  never  entered  the  details  of  human 
life  and  experience  with  such  minute  and  peremptory  decrees, 
and  shaped  it  in  all  its  minutiae  with  such  an  overshadowing 


154  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


mastery , as  has  resulted  from  the  inexorable  and  bewildering 
requirements  of  caste  regulations.  The  influence  of  caste 
penetrates  the  innermost  recesses  of  the  spiritual  life,  and 
reaches  to  the  uttermost  bounds  of  outward  conduct  and  habit, 
concerning  itself  with  the  most  trivial  as  well  as  the  most 
dignified  aspects  of  daily  experience.  Sir  M.  Monier- 
Williams  remarks  : “ It  is  difficult  for  us  Europeans  to  under- 
stand how  pride  of  caste  as  a divine  ordinance  interpenetrates 
the  whole  being  of  the  Hindu.  He  looks  upon  caste  as  his 
veritable  god,  and  thus  caste  rules,  which  we  believe  to  be  a 
hindrance  to  the  acceptance  of  true  religion,  are  to  him  the 
very  essence  of  all  religion.  They  influence  his  whole  life  and 
conduct.’ ’ As  it  exists  at  the  present  day  in  India  it  is  still 
as  assertive  in  the  lives  of  its  devotees  as  it  ever  has  been  in 
the  past,  and  over  all  other  classes  still  towers  the  Brahman, 
who  is  regarded  by  the  great  mass  of  Hindus  with  a reverence 
which  hardly  differs  from  worship. 

By  Brahman  in  this  connection  we  do  not  refer  to  offici- 
ating priests,  for,  although  the  priestly  caste  is  Brahmanical, 
the  great  mass  of  Brahmans  are  not  priests,  and  in  fact  look 
down  with  considerable  contempt  upon  the  priestly  class 
known  as  Pujari  Brahmans.  It  is  not  the  priestly  office,  but 
his  birthright,  which  makes  the  Brahman.  The  proportion 
of  Brahmans  to  the  Hindu  population  may  be  roughly  esti- 
mated as  one-twentieth,  and  they  are  separated  into  numerous 
divisions  and  subdivisions.  “ As  a matter  of  fact,”  says  Mr. 
Bhattacharya,  “the  divisions  among  the  Brahmans  are  so 
numerous  that  it  is  exceedingly  difficult,  if  not  actually  im- 
possible, to  frame  an  exhaustive  and  accurate  list  thereof”  (p. 
33).  The  number  of  separate  castes  is  enormous,  and  diffi- 
cult to  determine  with  precision.  The  “Madras  Census  Re- 
port for  1881  ” contained  19,044  caste  names,  and  Sir  Wil- 
liam Hunter  states  that  there  are  “not  fewer  than  3,000  of 
them  which  have  separate  names,  and  which  regard  themselves 
as  separate  classes.”  One  of  the  most  terrible  counts  against 
the  system  is  that  it  belittles  moral  distinctions,  while  it  exalts 
other  tests  of  character  and  conduct  of  no  moral  significance. 

6.  The  social  evil  of  the  caste  system  is  the  aspect  of  the 
subject  which  calls  for  notice  here.  As  a matter  of  course, 
caste  is  admired  and  defended  by  the  great  mass  of  Hindus, 
and,  strange  to  say,  even  some  English  officials  in  India  have 
defended  it  as  facilitating  the  exercise  of  authority  by  foreign 


THE  SOCIAL  GROUP 


155 


government,  and  would  therefore  sustain  and  foster  it  as  a 
political  convenience.  The  substance  of  what  has  been  said 
in  its  advocacy  may  be  summed  up  as  follows : First,  it  in- 

sures a certain  degree  of  excellence  in  labor  by  virtue  of  its 
assignment  of  the  sphere  of  toil  to  successive  generations. 
Second,  it  affords  some  measure  of  protection  by  uniting 
classes  with  similar  interests  and  bound  to  help  one  another. 
Third,  it  promotes  to  some  extent  cleanliness  by  its  regulations 
concerning  the  care  of  utensils,  bathing,  etc.  Fourth,  it  pro- 
motes respect  for  authority.  Fifth,  it  puts  certain  restraints 
upon  immorality  by  confining  it  within  caste  lines. 

7.  After  all  has  been  said,  however,  in  its  favor,  an  over- 
whelming indictment  can  be  brought  against  it  as  involving 
enormous  disadvantages  and  disabilities  to  Hindu  society.  We 
condense  again,  from  Papers  on  Indian  Social  Reform,  the 
following  summary : First,  it  is  productive  of  physical 
degeneracy  in  that  it  involves  the  intermarriage  of  near  rel- 
atives, and  is  mainly  responsible  for  early  marriages.  Second, 
it  is  one  source  of  India's  poverty,  since  it  places  restrictions 
on  foreign  intercourse,  and  makes  professions  hereditary  and 
labor  degrading.  Third,  it  hinders  intellectual  progress,  since 
it  frowns  upon  general  education.  Fourth,  it  is  antagonistic 
to  social  reform,  and  fights  fiercely  for  the  continuance  of 
every  social  evil  which  burdens  and  crushes  Indian  society. 
Fifth,  it  destroys  individual  liberty,  since  it  places  inexorable 
disabilities  upon  its  victims.  Sixth,  it  hinders  the  growth  of 
national  sentiment,  since  it  elevates  caste  above  the  idea  of 
nationality.  It  is,  in  fact,  an  expedient  for  ruling  out  national 
unity,  so  that  “ * a nation  divided  against  itself'  is  the  proper 
description  of  the  Hindu  race."  This,  it  will  be  noted,  is 
the  very  argument  used  by  Sir  Lepel  Griffin  in  advocacy  of 
caste  as  facilitating  foreign  dominion.  Seventh,  it  creates  dis- 
cord among  different  classes  of  society,  and  has  been  in  the 
past  the  fruitful  cause  of  dissensions  and  quarrels.  Eighth, 
it  hardens  the  heart  against  human  suffering,  since  the 
alleviation  of  suffering  can  never  be  attempted  in  violation  of 
caste  regulations.  Ninth,  it  consigns  to  hopeless  degradation 
nearly  the  entire  human  race,  and  even  assigns  to  a large 
section  of  mankind  a rank  lower  than  the  brutes.  Tenth,  it 
fills  certain  classes  with  unspeakable  arrogance  and  pride. 
The  most  consummate  illustration  of  conceit  in  the  world  is 
the  Brahman.  Eleventh,  it  identifies  religion  with  outward 


156  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


ceremony,  and  degrades  moral  standards  to  the  level  of  ex- 
ternal forms  and  customs.  The  offences  against  caste  are  con- 
fined to  such  things  as  eating,  drinking,  and  marrying  con- 
trary to  rule,  or  neglecting  some  of  the  multiplied  regulations 
of  caste  behavior.  Caste  pollution  becomes  the  merest  fiction, 
while  moral  uncleanness  and  gross  crime  are  passed  over  with 
little,  if  any,  notice.  Twelfth,  the  whole  system  is  based 
upon  false  conceptions  of  the  Deity,  and  its  most  intense  con- 
tentions have  no  basis  whatever  in  truth.  Thirteenth,  it  is  in 
defiance  of  human  rights  and  all  strict  justice  between  man 
and  man.  Its  arbitrary  divisions  of  sacred  and  common, 
clean  and  unclean,  holy  and  unholy,  noble  and  ignoble,  have 
become  crystallized  into  a regnant  system  which  is  despotic  to 
the  last  degree. 

8.  A striking  commentary  upon  the  whole  system  is  the 
lamentable,  almost  hopeless,  social  degradation  of  the  Pariahs , 
a low  caste  section  of  Indian  population.  An  admirable 
resume  of  their  state  is  given  by  the  Rev.  L.  L.  Uhl,  Ph.  D., 
of  the  American  Lutheran  Mission,  Guntur,  in  a paper  pre- 
sented at  the  Bombay  Conference  of  1892-93,  and  published 
on  page  550  of  its  report.  The  picture  he  draws  is  one  of 
crushing  social  ostracism,  of  terrible  restrictions  in  everything 
that  concerns  their  hygienic,  physical,  intellectual,  and  moral 
welfare.  The  strenuousness  of  this  social  excommunication 
seems  to  vary  somewhat  in  different  sections  of  India.  It 
prevails  in  the  Native  States  more  than  in  British  India,  and 
among  them  none  is  more  caste-ridden  than  Travancoret  in 
the  southwesterly  extremity  of  the  peninsula.  Brahmanism 
reigns  there  with  its  most  extravagant  pretensions.  Mrs. 
Murray  Mitchell,  in  a volume  entitled  “ In  Southern  India,” 
refers  to  Brahmanism  as  found  in  that  section  as  follows  : 
(i  Caste  is  intensely  and  exceptionally  strong,  and,  as  else- 
where, stands  in  the  way  of  all  progress.  The  degradation  of 
the  low  castes,  consequent  on  the  absurd  and  oppressive  laws 
of  caste,  is  terrible  here,  and  hardly  to  be  believed.  For  ex- 
ample, no  native  Christian,  however  educated  and  intelligent, 
nor  any  person  of  low  caste,  can  obtain  employment  in  a 
public  office,  for  fear  of  polluting  those  officials  who  may  be 
of  higher  caste.  Then  the  school  difficulties  are  endless. 
The  children  of  some  of  the  inferior  castes  dare  not  even  ap- 
proach a school  where  higher-caste  lads  are  taught.  The  dis- 
abilities are  inconceivable  and  so  are  the  injustice  and  inequal- 


THE  SOCIAL  GROUP 


157 


ity  of  the  laws.  Women,  too,  are  degraded  to  a degree  one 
hardly  finds  equalled  in  these  days  of  reform  in  any  other  part 
of  India.  It  is  terrible  to  look  at  some  of  the  poor,  miser- 
able-looking creatures,  with  hardly  any  clothing  and  no  sense 
even  of  decency.” 

9.  A consensus  of  influential  opinion  as  to  the  evils  of  caste 
by  both  foreign  and  native  students  of  Indian  history  and  so- 
ciety might  be  given  at  considerable  length.  Some  of  the 
most  distinguished  and  intelligent  natives  of  India  have  had 
the  courage — and  it  has  required  great  moral  heroism — to  re- 
nounce caste,  and  in  some  instances  eminent  Indians  have 
done  valiant  service  in  seeking  to  deliver  their  countrymen 
from  its  stupendous  bondage.  Among  them  may  be  mentioned 
the  late  Rev.  Dr.  Krishna  Mohun  Banerjea,  Pandit  Bishan 
Narayan  Dar,  Raja  Rammohun  Roy,  Keshub  Chunder  Sen, 
Sasipada  Banerjee,  Iswar  Chandra  Vidyasagar,  Raja  Sir  Tan- 
jore  Madhava  Row,  Protab  Chunder  Mozumdar,  Pandit  Shiva 
Nath  Sastri,  and  Mr.  Behramji  M.  Malabari,  the  accomplished 
editor  of  The  Indian  Spectator , who,  although  born  a Parsi, 
had  a Hindu  mother  and  knew  the  system  through  and 
through.  In  the  sketch  of  his  life  and  times  by  Mr.  R.  P. 
Karkaria  an  instance  is  given  (p.  116)  of  what  it  means  for  a 
Hindu  to  break  caste.  Other  names  might  be  given,  and 
several  of  the  native  papers  of  India  might  be  designated 
which  have  done  excellent  service  in  this  direction,  although 
edited  by  Hindus. 

10.  As  viewed  from  a missionary  standpoint,  the  present 
workings  of  caste  in  Hindu  society  must  be  regarded  as  a 
social  evil  of  immensely  depressing  and  paralyzing  power. 
Missionaries  are  not  alone  in  this  opinion,  as  learned  students, 
such  as  Sir  M.  Monier-Williams  and  Professor  Max  Muller, 
have  expressed  most  emphatic  judgments  as  to  the  indefensible 
pretensions  and  terrible  social  evils  of  caste.  Anglo-Indian 
officials  of  distinction  have  also  united  in  this  verdict.  In  the 
“ Madras  Census  Report  for  1871  99  Dr.  Cornish,  in  an  “ In- 
troduction on  Caste, 99  expresses  it  as  his  conclusion  that  it  **  is 
now  the  greatest  bar  to  the  advance  of  the  Indian  people  in 
civilization  and  aptitude  for  self-government.”  In  agreement 
with  this  is  the  judgment  of  Sir  Henry  Maine  that  caste  is 
“ the  most  disastrous  and  blighting  of  all  human  institutions.” 
There  is  evidently  a hard  fight,  in  fact  a social  convulsion, 
which  must  come  in  connection  with  the  break-up  of  this 


158  SOCIAL  EVILS  OF  THE  NON- CHRISTIAN  WORLD 


tremendous  system.  Its  solidarity  is  something  which  no  mere 
words  can  describe.  It  will  be  one  of  the  most  signal  triumphs 
of  Christianity  over  human  ignorance,  superstition,  pride,  and 
stout-hearted  defiance  when  it  shall  finally  make  a successful 
breach  in  these  massive  ramparts.  The  disciples  of  caste  are 
no  doubt  aware  that  their  system  can  never  assimilate  modern 
civilization,  and  can  never  coalesce  with  the  spirit  of  the 
Gospel.  It  is  now  the  policy  of  Christian  missions  not  to 
recognize  caste  in  the  Church. 

11.  In  some  sections  of  India,  especially  in  the  Native 
States,  the  position  of  native  Christians  is  one  of  difficulty, 
and  characterized  by  many  unjust  disabilities.  They  are  even 
regarded  as  outcasts,  and  have  been  visited  with  some  of  the 
ignominy  and  ostracism  which  are  common  in  the  case  of  non- 
caste people.  Their  property  rights  have  been  declared  as 
forfeited  in  the  Province  of  Mysore.  There  is  serious  inter- 
ference with  the  custody  of  children,  prohibition  of  the  use 
of  public  wells,  and  other  minor  annoyances.  The  Bangalore 
Native  Christian  Association  has  presented  an  address  to  the 
Lord  Bishop  of  Madras,  recounting  the  objectionable  features 
of  this  situation,  and  in  view  of  the  fact  that  there  are  30,000 
Christians  in  the  Province  of  Mysore,  its  members  requested 
his  aid  to  secure  the  removal  of  these  disabilities.  A similar 
movement  is  in  operation  for  the  Native  State  of  Travancore, 
where  the  situation  is  still  more  trying. 

12.  The  overshadowing  import  of  castes  as  found  in  India 
seems  to  render  it  a comparatively  insignificant  matter  in  other 
lands.  It  is,  indeed,  not  found  in  China  or  Japan,  although 
the  old  feudal  distinctions  were  nearly  as  pronounced  as  caste 
classification  in  India.  A powerful  class  spirit,  however,  is 
still  found  in  Japanese  society,  but  perhaps  not  more  so  than 
elsewhere.  It  is  not  found  at  all  in  Siam,  although  it  prevails 
in  all  its  intensity  just  north  in  Assam.  We  have  mild  phases 
of  it  in  Korea,  chiefly  in  connection  with  trade  distinctions, 
for  example,  the  butchers  as  a class  were  obliged  to  observe 
certain  restrictions,  which,  however,  have  recently  been 
abolished,  largely  through  Christian  influence,  by  official 
action  of  the  Korean  Government.  In  some  of  the  South  Sea 
Islands  there  is  a strong  caste  feeling,  and  in  certain  sections 
of  Africa  it  is  quite  pronounced,  as  in  Dahomey  and  Bechuan* 
aland. 


Note 

The  remaining  sections  of  the  lecture  not  reprinted  here, 
treat  of  the  national,  commercial,  and  religious  groups  of  evils 
which  are  found  in  non-Christian  society.  For  sub-divisions, 
see  Synopsis  of  Lecture  II.  on  page  io. 


159 


Christian  Missions  and  Social  Progress 
Volume  II 
Synopsis  of  Contents 


SYNOPSIS  OF  LECTURE  V 

THE  DAWN  OF  A SOCIOLOGICAL  ERA  IN  MISSIONS 

The  process  of  social  change  in  the  case  of  degraded  races  must  nec- 
essarily advance  slowly.  Christianity  must  begin  by  making  its  own  new 
environment.  Long  and  patient  preliminary  work  is  required.  In  the 
present  lecture  it  will  be  expedient  to  take  a survey  of  the  foundations 
which  have  been  laid  for  the  inauguration  of  a new  era  of  sociological 
development  in  backward  nations.  These  preliminary  achievements  are 
studied  with  a view  to  understanding  their  true  significance  as  the  pre- 
cursors of  great  and  splendid  advances  in  the  social  regeneration  of  the 
earth  during  the  coming  centuries. 

Turning,  then,  to  the  foundations  rather  than  to  the  superstructure,  and 
considering  preliminary  transformations  rather  than  present  activities 
(which  will  form  the  subject  of  a subsequent  lecture,)  we  shall  proceed  to 
designate,  and  endeavor  to  characterize,  some  achievements  of  missions 
which  are  philosophically  and  historically  of  fundamental  value  and 
necessity,  in  anticipation  of  the  thorough  and  final  renovation  of  non- 
Christian  society  after  the  ideals  of  Christianity. 

I.  The  creation  of  a new  type  of  individual  character.  A degenerate 
individuality  is*  the  first  point  of  contact  between  Christian  missions  and 
heathenism,  and  the  reconstruction  of  character  is  the  earliest  task  of  the 
missionary.  In  this  way  alone  can  a regenerate  element  be  introduced 
into  the  social  life  of  non-Christian  races.  Illustrations  of  changed  lives 
are  produced  from  mission  fields. 

II.  The  creation  of  a new  public  opinion.  A perverted  social  con- 
science is  as  much  a reality  in  non-Christian  lands  as  a perverted  individ- 
ual conscience,  and  in  the  form  of  public  opinion,  it  is  a factor  of  amazing 
force  and  stability.  Christian  missions  represent  almost  the  only  power 
which  with  any  transforming  result  has  ever  grappled  with  it  aggressively 
and  successfully.  The  power  of  missions  to  dethrone  many  of  the  ruling 
ideas  in  heathen  society  is  vindicated  by  examples. 

160 


SYNOPSIS  OF  CONTENTS  OF  VOLUME  II 


161 


III.  The  establishment  and  promotion  of  education.  This  is  one  of 
the  noblest  sociological  aspects  of  missionary  effort.  The  present  educa- 
tional plant  of  foreign  missions  throughout  the  world  is  a marvelous 
achievement,  considered  not  only  in  itself,  but  as  representing  literally  a 
free  gift  of  Christianity  to  the  nations.  Its  import  as  a stimulus  to  social 
progress  is  made  evident. 

IV.  The  literary  contribution  of  missions  to  the  intellectual  life  of 
non-Christian  races  is  a fundamental  factor  of  social  progress.  The  crown 
and  glory  of  this  is  the  Bible,  around  which  all  mission  literature  is 
grouped.  The  old  literature  is  usually  antiquated,  effete,  moribund,  and 
useless  for  the  purposes  of  modern  progress.  The  scope  of  the  literary 
activities  of  missionaries  is  dwelt  upon,  and  the  value  of  their  contribu- 
tions illustrated. 

V.  The  influence  of  missions  in  awakening  the  philanthropic  spirit. 
Benevolence,  both  as  a grace  and  a duty,  has  always  been  part  of  the 
historic  outcome  of  Christianity.  The  Christian  religion  is  still  assuming 
the  role  of  the  Good  Samaritan  among  the  nations.  Exemplifications  of 
this  statement  are  brought  forward,  and  its  elevating  influence  in  society 
is  dwelt  upon. 

VI.  The  influence  of  the  personal  example  of  missionaries  and  native 
converts.  This  is  a contribution  of  missions  to  social  progress  which  is 
of  manifest  value.  Illustrations  from  Christian  history,  and  from  mission 
fields  at  the  present  day,  sufficiently  justify  the  high  estimate  placed  upon 
the  power  of  the  Christian  life  as  exemplified  in  the  presence  of  the 
heathen  world.  Some  recent  tributes  to  the  personal  character  of  mis- 
sionaries, and  the  social  value  of  their  lives,  are  given  from  non-mission- 
ary sources. 

VII.  The  introduction  of  new  national  aspirations  and  higher  concep- 
tions of  government.  Missions  have  introduced  a new  ideal  of  patriotism, 
and  work  steadily  in  the  direction  of  purer  laws  and  larger  freedom. 
Political  and  social  despotism  is  undermined.  Christian  rulers  among 
native  races  are  possessed  by  new  conceptions  of  responsibility  and  duty. 

VIII.  The  work  of  missions  in  laying  the  foundation  of  a new  social 
order  will  inevitably  excite  much  opposition.  An  era  of  such  transforma- 
tion implies  a struggle  with  dominant  religious,  social,  and  political  power. 
The  Reformation  was  a period  of  conflicts ; the  Huguenots  and  Puritans 
were  soldiers  of  conscience ; the  early  struggles  of  Christianity  with  pagan 
Rome,  were  sharp  and  terrible  ; the  victories  of  religious  history  must  be 
repeated  in  the  experience  of  Christian  missions.  The  moral  value  of 
missions  as  sponsors  of  true  civilization  is  noted. 

IX.  A symposium  of  missionary  opinion  as  to  the  social  value  of  mis- 
sions. The  judgment  of  missionaries  in  all  parts  of  the  world  is  quoted. 

X.  The  evidence  of  native  witnesses  is  confirmatory  of  the  views  of 
missionaries,  and  is  of  value,  especially  where  the  source  is  non-Christian. 

XI.  Additional  testimony  from  prominent  laymen  and  government 
officials  as  to  the  social  value  of  missions  is  brought  forward.  Distin- 
guished men  of  high  position  in  the  foreign  service  of  Christian  govern- 
ments cordially  and  emphatically  endorse  the  missionary  enterprise  as  a 
saving  factor  in  the  development  of  belated  races. 

The  above  survey  of  fundamental  transformations  in  non-Christian 
society,  preparatory  to  coming  changes  in  the  higher  life  of  the  nations, 


162 


SYNOPSIS  OF  CONTENTS  OF  VOLUME  II 


indicate  that  an  era  of  social  progress  is  sure  to  follow  the  entrance  of 
missions  and  the  sincere  acceptance  of  the  benefits  they  bring.  In  view 
of  this  fact  a special  suggestiveness  attaches  to  the  varied  missionary  activ- 
ities presented  in  detail  in  the  following  lecture. 


SYNOPSIS  OF  LECTURE  VI 

THE  CONTRIBUTION  OF  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS  TO  SOCIAL  PROGRESS 

Our  survey  of  the  function  and  efficiency  of  missions  as  instrumental  in 
preparing  the  way  for  social  changes,  by  introducing  new  forces,  giving 
needed  stimulus,  and  providing  the  unique  equipment  required,  must  now 
be  supplemented  by  a more  detailed  review  of  present  activities  of  a soci- 
ological import  in  many  fields.  Having  studied  the  scope  and  funda- 
mental conditions  of  social  progress  as  affected  by  missions,  let  us  now 
seek  to  enter  the  very  workshop,  inspect  the  tools,  observe  the  machinery 
in  motion,  understand  its  processes,  and  see  with  our  own  eyes  the  results 
it  produces.  Let  us  note  at  the  outset  that  we  are  not  dealing  in  this  con- 
nection primarily  with  the  spiritual  or  evangelistic  outcome  of  missions. 
We  are  endeavoring  rather  to  ascertain  and  emphasize  their  more  indirect 
results  in  the  sphere  of  social  reformation  and  progress.  For  the  sake  of 
convenience,  as  in  our  study  of  “ The  Social  Evils  of  the  Non-Christian 
World,”  the  varied  aspects  of  the  subject  may  be  classified  into  groups  or 
clusters. 

I.  Results  Manifest  in  the  Individual  Character  : 

(i)  Temperance  Reform.  (2)  Deliverance  from  the  Opium 
Habit.  (3)  Restraint  upon  Gambling.  (4)  Establishing 
Higher  Standards  of  Personal  Purity.  (5)  Discrediting 
Self-Inflicted  Torture  or  Mutilation.  (6)  Arresting  Pes- 
simistic and  Suicidal  Tendencies.  (7)  Cultivating  Habits 
of  Industry  and  Frugality.  (8)  Substituting  Christian 
Humility  and  Proper  Self-Respect  for  Barbaric  Pride  and 
Foolish  Conceit.  (9)  Cultivation  of  the  Personal  Virtues. 

II.  Results  Affecting  Family  Life  : 

(I)  The  Elevation  of  Woman.  (2)  Restraining  Polygamy  and 
Concubinage.  (3)  Checking  Adultery  and  Divorce.  (4) 
Seeking  the  Abolishment  of  Child  Marriage.  (5)  Alle- 
viating the  Social  Miseries  of  Widowhood.  (6)  Mitigating 
the  Enforced  Seclusion  of  Woman.  (7)  Improving  the 
Condition  of  Domestic  Life  and  Family  Training.  (8) 
Rendering  Aid  and  Protection  to  Children.  (9)  Diminish- 
ing Infanticide. 

III.  Results  of  a Humane  and  Philanthropic  Tendency  : 

(1)  Hastening  the  Suppression  of  the  Slave-Trade  and  Labor- 
Traffic.  (2)  Aiding  in  the  Overthrow  of  Slavery.  (3) 
Abolishing  Cannibalism  and  Inhuman  Sports.  (4)  Arrest- 
ing Human  Sacrifices.  (5)  Banishing  Cruel  Ordeals. 
(6)  Initiating  the  Crusade  against  Foot-Binding.  (7) 
Promoting  Prison  Reforms  and  Mitigating  Brutal  Punish- 


SYNOPSIS  OF  CONTENTS  OF  VOLUME  II  163 


ments.  (8)  Securing  Humane  Ministration  to  the  Poor 
and  Dependent.  (9)  Organizing  Famine  Relief.  (10) 
Introducing  Modern  Medical  Science.  (11)  Conducting 
Medical  Dispensaries,  Infirmaries,  and  Hospitals.  (12) 
Founding  Leper  Asylums  and  Colonies.  (13)  Establish- 
ing Orphan  Asylums.  (14)  Promoting  Cleanliness  and 
Sanitation.  (15)  Mitigating  the  Brutalities  of  War.  (16) 
Instilling  a Peaceable  and  Law-Abiding  Spirit. 

IV.  Results  Tending  to  Develop  the  Higher  Life  of  Society  : 
(I)  The  Introduction  of  Educational  Facilities.  (2)  Indus- 
trial Training  Schools.  (3)  Modern  Methods  of  Univer- 
sity Extension.  (4)  Christian  Associations  for  Young  Men 
and  Women.  (5)  The  Production  of  Wholesome  and  In- 
structive Literature.  (6)  The  Quickening  of  General  In- 
telligence. (7)  The  Abolishment  of  Objectionable  Social 
Customs.  (8)  The  Disintegration  of  Caste. 

V.  Results  Touching  National  Life  and  Character  : 

(1)  Cultivating  the  Spirit  of  Freedom.  (2)  Advocating  a Just 
and  Orderly  System  of  Taxation.  (3)  Seeking  to  Purify 
Official  Corruption.  (4)  Modifying  Extortion  and  Legal 
Robbery.  (5)  Promoting  the  Reconstruction  of  Laws  and 
the  Reform  of  Judicial  Methods.  (6)  Elevating  the  Stand- 
ard of  Government  Service.  (7)  Furthering  Proper  Inter- 
national Relations.  (8)  Serving  the  Interests  of  Science 
and  Civilization. 

VI.  Results  Affecting  the  Commercial  and  Industrial  Status  : 
(1)  Commending  New  Standards  of  Commercial  Integrity.  (2) 
Establishing  Better  Methods  of  Transacting  Business.  (3) 
Seeking  to  Regulate  Financial  Dealings.  (4)  Developing 
Trade  and  Commerce  with  the  Outside  World.  (5)  Intro- 
ducing Material  Civilization  and  Modern  Facilities. 

VII.  Results  Connected  with  Religious  Faith  and  Practice  : 

(I)  A More  Spiritual  Conception  of  Religion.  (2)  The  De- 
cline of  Idolatry.  (3)  The  Overthrow  of  Superstition.  (4) 
Associating  Morality  with  Religion.  (5)  Elevating  the 
Standard  of  Personal  Character  in  Religious  Leaders.  (6) 
Teaching  Lessons  of  Religious  Freedom  and  Toleration. 
(7)  Cultivating  Sabbath  Observance. 

The  above  survey  suggests  an  imperfectly  explored  field  of  research  as 
to  the  full  scope  and  significance  of  missions.  It  will  yield  results  of  un- 
expected apologetic  import  and  value;  Christian  missions  exhibit  the 
social  benefits  and  results  of  Christianity  in  regions  where  there  is  little 
else  to  encourage  the  hope  of  better  things.  They  are  aptly  typified  by 
that  tree  of  life  on  the  banks  of  the  river,  the  leaves  of  which  are  for 
“ the  healing  of  the  nations.” 


Analytical  Index 

Besides  indicating  the  location  of  important  topics,  this  index  is  also 
intended  for  use  in  preparing  the  various  studies.  Having  read  over  its 
analytical  outline  before  taking  up  each  study,  the  student  sees  exactly 
what  ground  is  covered  by  the  section  to  be  mastered.  So,  too,  after 
having  studied  the  portion  assigned,  its  outline  can  again  be  used  in  lieu 
of  questions  put  by  a teacher,  thus  enabling  the  student  to  see  what  topics 
have  been  forgotten.  The  numerals  following  each  topic  and  sub-topic 
refer  to  the  pages  where  they  may  be  found.  For  the  convenience  of 
those  who  spend  eight  hours  on  this  book,  the  suggested  places  for  be- 
ginning each  lesson  are  inserted  in  brackets.  While  this  breaks  the  con- 
tinuity of  thought  in  some  cases,  it  is  as  convenient  a division  as  may  be 
made. 

I 

Introductory 

I.  Character  of  the  present  inquiry,  13,  14. 

1.  Its  wide  range,  13. 

2.  Its  spirit  and  aim,  13. 

3.  Excellencies  not  to  be  ignored  or  minimized ; the  Chinese,  13, 14. 

II.  Evils  of  Christendom,  14,  15. 

1.  The  indictment,  14,  15. 

2.  The  retort  of  non-Christian  nations,  15. 

III.  The  test  of  Christian  civilization,  15,  16. 

1.  This  test  applied  to  Christendom,  15. 

2.  Failure  of  non-Christian  nations  to  meet  this  test,  15,  16. 

II 

The  Individual  Group 

[Study  I.] 

I.  Intemperance,  17-19. 

1.  The  world  survey,  17. 

2.  Intemperance  in  foreign  mission  fields,  17-19. 

(1)  Spanish  America,  17.  (2)  India  and  Burma,  18.  (3) 

Africa,  18.  (4)  Japan,  Korea,  China,  18.  (5)  Moham- 
medan lands,  19.  (6)  Pacific  Islands,  19. 

3.  Results  of  the  survey,  19. 

II.  The  opium  habit,  19-23. 

1.  China  the  storm  centre  of  the  vice,  19. 

164 


ANALYTICAL  INDEX 


165 


2.  Present  production  of  opium,  19,  20. 

3.  The  real  points  at  issue,  20. 

4.  The  Royal  Commission  on  opium,  20,  21. 

(1)  Limits  of  its  investigations,  20.  (2)  Its  report,  20,  21. 

(3)  Minority  report,  21. 

5.  British  restrictions  in  Burma,  21,  22. 

(1)  Buddhism’s  protest,  21.  (2)  Real  fact  in  the  case,  22. 

6.  Extent  of  the  evil,  22,  23. 

7.  Physical  and  moral  effects  of  the  opium  habit,  23. 

III.  The  gambling  habit,  23,  24. 

1.  The  habit  in  Korea  and  China,  23. 

2.  Relation  of  Siamese  Government  to  gambling,  23,  24. 

3.  Southern  and  Western  Asia,  24. 

4.  Africa  and  Spanish  America,  24. 

IV.  Immoral  vices,  24-30. 

1.  Vices  prevalent  in  Japan,  25,  26. 

(1)  Yoshiwara  system  of  “regulated  vice,”  25.  (2)  Dual 

code  of  sexual  morality,  25.  (3)  Proofs  that  immorality 

is  Japan’s  national  sin,  25,  26. 

2.  Korean  forms  of  immorality,  26. 

3.  Impurity  of  lip  and  life  in  China,  26,  27. 

Siamese  and  Thibetan  forms  of  vice,  27. 

The  vices  of  India,  27-29. 

(1)  Its  manifold  forms,  27.  (2)  Reasons  for  its  presence, 

27,  28.  (3)  Proofs  that  better  elements  in  Hindu 

society  are  opposed  to  it,  28.  (4)  Attitude  of  British 

Government  toward  immoral  vices,  29. 

Exceptional  immorality  of  Mohammedan  lands,  29,  30. 
Profligacy  in  Spanish  and  Portuguese  America,  30. 

8.  Africa  and  the  Pacific  Islands,  30. 

V.  Self-torture,  30,  31. 

1.  Its  usual  causes,  30. 

2.  Austerities  endured  by  the  devotees  and  fakirs  of  India,  30,  31. 

3.  Motives  of  self-mutilation,  etc.,  in  China,  31. 

4.  Fanatical  cruelties  of  Mohammedan  lands,  31. 

VI.  Suicide,  31-33. 

1.  Self-destruction  in  China,  32. 

(i)  Causes  of  its  frequency,  32.  (2)  Popular  methods  of 

suicide,  32. 

2.  Hara-kiri  in  Japan,  32,  33. 

(1)  Esteem  in  which  it  has  been  held,  32,  33.  (2)  Modus 

operandi,  33.  (3)  Other  methods,  33. 

3.  Suicide  in  India  and  the  East  Indies,  33. 

(1)  Its  causes  and  extent  in  India,  33.  (2)  Notoriety 

gained  by  suicide  in  the  East  Indies  and  New  Guinea, 
33. 

[Study  II.] 

VII.  Idleness  and  Improvidence,  33-35. 

1.  How  esteemed  and  exhibited  in  Africa,  34. 

2.  Idleness  among  Pacific  Islanders.  Negroes,  and  Indians,  34. 


4- 

5- 


6. 

7- 


166 


ANALYTICAL  INDEX 


VIII. 


IX. 


I. 


II. 


3.  Forms  of  idleness  in  China  and  Korea,  34,  35. 

4.  Evils  of  mendicancy  in  India,  35. 

5.  The  blight  of  indolence  in  South  American  countries,  35. 
Excessive  pride  and  self-exaltation,  35-37. 

1.  Some  results  of  such  a spirit,  35. 

2.  China’s  inflated  pride  and  its  aim,  35,  36. 

3.  Japan’s  excusable  but  dangerous  vanity,  36. 

4.  Korean  pride,  36. 

5.  Effects  on  the  natives  of  Siamese  self-complacency,  36. 

6.  Hinduism’s  tendency  to  stimulate  self-esteem,  36. 

7.  Striking  effects  of  the  haughty  spirit  of  Islam,  37. 

8.  Prevalence  and  results  of  African  pride,  37. 

Moral  delinquencies,  37-39. 

1.  Blighting  effects  and  prevalence  of  untruthfulness  and  dis- 

honesty, 37,  38. 

2.  Private  mendacity  and  official  honesty  in  Japan,  38. 

3.  China,  “ an  empire  of  make-believe ; ” stealing  and  cheating,  38. 

4.  Untruthfulness  and  dishonesty  in  Southeastern  Asia,  38. 

5.  Indian  and  Persian  untruthfulness,  38,  39. 

6.  The  Turkish  Empire  full  of  dissimulation,  39. 

7.  Africa  a continent  of  lies  and  thieving,  39. 

8.  Pacific  Islanders’  love  for  lying,  other  countries,  39. 


Ill 

The  Family  Group 

Family  status  in  classical  and  heathen  civilization,  40,  41. 

1.  Marriage  and  domestic  life  in  classical  times,  40. 

2.  The  Christian  ideal  of  the  family  contrasted  with  pagan 

views,  41. 

3.  General  status  of  woman  in  non-Christian  lands  to-day,  41. 

The  degradation  of  woman,  41-51. 

1.  Her  status  outside  of  Christendom,  41,  42. 

(1)  Estimate  of  woman,  41,  42.  (2)  Indications  of  this  es- 

timate, 42. 

2.  Signs  and  tokens  of  woman’s  inferiority,  42-45. 

(1)  In  India,  42,  43.  (2)  Japanese  woman’s  less  objection- 
able lot,  43.  (3)  Woman’s  life  in  China,  43, 44.  (4) 

Her  lot  in  Korea,  44.  (5)  Details  of  woman’s  life  in 

India,  44.  (6)  Mohammedan  women,  44,  45.  (7) 

Treatment  of  women  in  Africa  and  Polynesia,  45. 

3.  Deprivations  and  restrictions  of  womanhood,  45-47. 

(1)  Intellectual  deprivations,  45.  (2)  Deprived  of  legiti- 
mate liberty,  45,  46.  (3)  Duty  of  widows  to  deceased 

husbands,  46.  (4)  Polygamy  and  concubinage,  46. 

(5)  Divorce,  46,  47.  (6)  Power  of  life  and  death,  47. 

4.  Her  indignities  and  burdens,  47-51. 

(1)  Physical  injuries,  47.  (2)  Marriage  indignities  and 


ANALYTICAL  INDEX 


167 


sufferings,  47,  48.  (3)  Sufferings  from  quackery  and 

widowhood,  48.  (4)  Lot  as  a laborer,  48.  (5)  Out- 

rages upon  her  virtue,  48,  49. 

5.  The  results  upon  her  personal  character,  49,  50. 

6.  Modifications  of  this  dark  picture,  50,  51. 

[Study  III.] 

III.  Polygamy  and  concubinage,  51-53. 

1.  Moral  dignity  of  the  Christian  code  of  marriage,  51,  52. 

(1)  Its  antagonism  to  immemorial  custom,  51.  (2)  Ancient 

forms  of  marriage,  51.  (3)  Position  of  the  non-Chris- 

tian world  to-day,  51,  52. 

2.  Licensed  polygamy  characteristic  of  ethnic  systems,  52,  53. 

(I)  In  Japan,  Korea,  China  and  Southeastern  Asia,  52.  (2) 

The  rule  in  India,  52,  53.  (3)  Mohammedan  rules, 

53.  (4)  Among  savage  races,  53. 

IV.  Adultery  and  divorce,  53-56. 

1.  Apparent  absence  of  these  acts,  53,  54. 

2.  Arbitrary  power  of  divorce  granted  by  heathen  systems,  54-56. 

(1)  Theory  in  non-Christian  law,  54.  (2)  Power  of  divorce 

and  limitations  in  China,  54.  (3)  Justifying  causes  in 

Japan  ; Japanese  statistics  compared  with  Occidental, 

54.  55.  (4)  Divorce  among  Indian  Mohammedans, 

55.  (5)  Turkish  customs,  55,  56.  (6)  Native  Chris- 

tians and  divorce  in  India,  56. 

V.  Child  marriage  and  widowhood,  56-62. 

1.  Evils  of  child  marriage,  56. 

2.  Some  statistics  from  the  census  of  1891,  56,  57. 

3.  Average  age  of  marriage  among  the  Brahmans,  57. 

4.  Reasons  assigned  for  early  marriage ; counter  arguments,  57,  58. 

5.  Testimony  of  physicians,  58. 

6.  Marriage  acts  of  1872  and  1891,  58,  59. 

7.  Further  reforms  needed  in  India,  59. 

8.  Child  marriage  in  other  lands,  59. 

9.  Reasons  underlying  prohibition  of  re-marriage  of  widows,  59. 

10.  The  “ Widow  Marriage  Act  ” of  1856,  59,  60. 

11.  The  causes  of  Hindu  widowhood,  60. 

12.  Mitigations  and  differences  in  the  sufferings  of  widows,  60,  61. 

13.  Statistics  concerning  Indian  widowhood  from  census  of  1891, 61. 

14.  Widowhood  in  other  lands,  61. 

15.  Extinct  custom  of  widow-burning,  61,  62. 

(1)  Reasons  for  its  prevalence,  61,  62.  (2)  Abolition  of  the 

practice,  62. 

VI.  Defective  family  training,  62-64. 

1.  Comparative  happiness  of  Japanese  child  life  ; dangers,  62,  63. 

2.  Theory  and  practice  as  to  child  training  in  China,  63. 

3.  Life  of  Hindu  and  Burmese  children,  63,  64. 

4.  Character  of  child-nurture  in  Mohammedan  lands,  64. 

5.  Lack  of  training  in  African  homes,  64. 

6.  The  abuse  of  parental  authority  in  eastern  lands,  64. 


168 


ANALYTICAL  INDEX 


VII.  Infanticide,  64-70. 

1.  The  crime  in  classical  and  mediaeval  Europe,  64. 

2.  Infanticide  among  the  Chinese,  64-66. 

(1)  Causes,  64,  65.  (2)  Its  prevalence,  65,  66.  (3) 

“ Babies’  Pond,”  66. 

3.  Hindu  infanticide,  66-69. 

(1)  Indian  testimony  concerning  its  prevalence,  66,  67. 

(2)  Parental  indifference  to  the  crime,  67,  68.  (3)  Its  ex- 

tent at  the  present  time,  68.  (4)  Government  pro- 

hibition and  its  results,  68,  69. 

4.  Heartless  and  cruel  infanticide  in  the  Pacific  Islands,  69. 

5.  Doom  of  twins  in  Africa ; other  reasons  for  child  murder,  69, 

70. 

6.  Indian  and  Mohammedan  attitude  toward  infanticide,  70. 

IV 

The  Tribal  Group 

[Study  IV.] 

I.  The  traffic  in  human  flesh,  71-79. 

1.  Historical  genesis  of  the  slave-trade,  71,  72. 

2.  The  centre  and  three  main  avenues  of  the  traffic,  72. 

3.  Annual  sacrifice  of  lives  due  to  the  trade,  72,  73. 

4.  Slave  markets  of  the  West  Coast  and  its  hinterland,  73,  74. 

(1)  The  Congo  Free  State,  73.  (2)  In  Hausaland,  73,  74. 

(3)  Eastern  Soudan,  74. 

5.  The  traffic  in  North  Africa,  74,  75. 

(1)  In  Morocco,  74.  (2)  In  Tripoli,  74.  (3)  In  Egypt, 

74,  75- 

6.  The  slave-traffic  on  the  East  Coast,  75,  76. 

(1)  The  main  recruiting  ground,  75.  (2)  Extent  of  the 

trade  in  Zanzibar,  75,  76.  (3)  Appeals  for  its  aboli- 
tion in  Zanzibar,  76.  (4)  Slave-traffic  in  German 

East  Africa,  76. 

7.  Restrictions  in  the  Nyassaland  Protectorate,  76,  77. 

(1)  Commissioner  Johnston’s  vigorous  measures,  76,  77. 
(2)  Reports  of  Mr.  Glave,  77. 

8.  The  status  in  Madagascar,  77,  78. 

9.  Summary  of  the  African  survey,  78. 

10.  Kidnapping  natives  of  the  Pacific  Islands,  78,  79. 

11.  Coolie  trade  in  China  and  India;  character  and  extent,  79. 

12.  Modified  slave-trade  of  India;  trade  in  Persia,  79. 

13.  Atrocious  cruelties  of  the  traffic,  79. 

II.  Slavery,  79-83. 

1.  Regions  where  slavery  has  been  abolished,  80. 

2.  Its  present  extent  and  general  character,  80,  81. 

3.  Varieties  of  slavery  in  China,  Korea,  and  Southeastern  Asia, 

81. 

4.  Servitude  for  debt  in  India’s  Native  States,  81. 

5.  The  status  in  Afghanistan,  81,  82. 


ANALYTICAL  INDEX 


169 


6.  Slavery  for  debt  in  Central  America,  82. 

7.  The  question  of  slavery  in  Zanzibar,  82,  83. 

8.  The  characteristic  evils  of  slavery,  83. 

III.  Cannibalism,  83-88. 

1.  Its  general  character  and  results,  83. 

2.  Its  prevalence  and  character  in  various  Pacific  Islands,  83,  84. 

3.  Cannibal  ferocity  in  Africa,  85-88. 

(1)  In  Gasaland,  85.  (2)  In  Zululand,  85.  (3)  In  the 

central  belt  of  the  Continent,  85.  (4)  Mr.  Mohun’s 

estimate  for  the  Congo  Free  State,  86.  (5)  Among 

the  Fangs,  86.  (6)  Back  of  Cameroons,  86,  87.  (7) 

Testimony  of  Bishop  Crowther,  Rev.  E.  Deas  and 
Father  Bubendorf,  87.  (8)  The  “ Human  Leopards,” 

87,  88.  (9)  Different  Cannibalistic  methods  of  East 

and  West  Coasts,  88. 

4.  The  vaudoux  worship  of  Hayti,  88. 

[Study  V.] 

IV.  Human  Sacrifices,  88-93. 

1.  Different  motives  inspiring  the  crime,  88,  89. 

2.  Its  prevalence  in  India  and  Southeastern  Asia,  89,  90. 

3.  Human  sacrifice  in  Australia,  Borneo  and  Formosa,  90. 

4.  Bloody  rites  in  the  Pacific  Islands,  90. 

5.  In  the  West  Indies,  Guiana  and  Alaska,  90,  91. 

6.  The  horrors  of  human  sacrifice  in  Africa,  91-93. 

(1)  In  the  Niger  delta,  91.  (2)  The  “ City  of  Blood,”  91. 

(3)  The  Congo,  92.  (4)  Uganda,  Abyssinia  and 

Southern  Africa,  92. 

V.  Cruel  ordeals,  93-95. 

1.  Object  and  character  of  these  ordeals,  93. 

2.  Barbarous  expedients  of  the  Ainu ; in  China,  93,  94. 

3.  In  India,  Siam,  and  Madagascar,  94. 

4.  African  ordeals ; Islands  of  the  Pacific,  94,  95. 

VI.  Cruel  punishments  and  torture,  95-99. 

1.  Gradual  improvement  in  the  penology  of  civilized  lands,  95. 

2.  Methods  of  punishment  in  Western  Asia,  95-97. 

(1)  Turkish  cruelties,  96.  (2)  Persian  punishments,  96. 

(3)  Central  Asia,  96,  97.  (4)  Afghanistan,  97. 

3.  Relics  of  barbarous  torture  in  India,  97. 

4.  A Chinese  chamber  of  horrors,  97,  98. 

5.  Korea’s  “ vocabulary  of  torture,”  98. 

6.  The  cruelties  of  punishment  in  Africa,  98,  99. 

VII.  Brutality  in  war,  99-102. 

1.  Horrors  of  war  in  civilized  countries,  99. 

2.  The  Japanese  in  the  late  war  with  China,  100. 

3.  Horrors  of  Chinese  warfare  illustrated,  100. 

4.  Cruelties  of  war  in  Central  Asia,  Persia  and  Turkey,  100,  101. 

5.  Sanguinary  customs  in  African  warfare  ; in  Madagascar,  10 1, 

102. 

6.  Ferocity  of  savage  warfare  in  the  Pacific,  102. 


170 


ANALYTICAL  INDEX 


VIII.  Blood  feuds,  102-104. 

1.  Definition  and  character,  102. 

2.  Prevalence  and  bitterness  of  blood  feuds  in  Africa,  102,  103. 

3.  Sectional  feuds  in  Turkey  and  Persia,  103. 

4.  Feuds  in  India,  103. 

5.  Chinese,  Formosan  and  Korean  feuds;  strife  in  Oceania,  103, 

104. 

IX.  Lawlessness,  104-108. 

1.  The  spirit  of  lawlessness  and  the  restraints  of  law,  104,  105. 

2.  Effect  of  civilized  governments  in  Asia  and  Africa,  105,  106. 

3.  Lawlessness  under  native  Asiatic  and  African  rule,  106- 108. 

0)  Japan  an  exception,  106.  (2)  China’s  lawless  maraud- 
ers, 106.  (3)  Manchurian,  106,  107.  (4)  Disorder 

and  robbery  in  Korea,  107.  (5)  Southeastern  Asia, 

107.  (6)  Persia,  107.  (7)  Turkey  and  Arabia,  107. 

(8)  Africa  the  haunt  of  lawless  violence,  107,  108. 


V 

The  Social  Group 

[Study  VI.] 

I.  Introductory : Character  of  this  cluster  of  evils,  109. 

II.  Ignorance,  109-113. 

1.  Evils  growing  out  of  ignorance,  109,  no. 

2.  Ignorance  not  always  synonymous  with  illiteracy ; illustration, 

no,  hi. 

3.  Enormous  percentage  of  illiteracy  in  China,  in. 

4.  The  highly  educated  ignorance  of  Chinese  officials,  112. 

5.  A large  part  of  the  world  in  the  slumber  of  ignorance,  112,  1 13. 

III.  Quackery,  113-121. 

1.  The  contribution  of  quackery  to  the  world’s  misery,  113. 

2.  The  charlatanism  of  the  Chinese  doctor,  113,  114. 

(1)  His  ignorance,  113.  (2)  Chinese  remedies,  113,  114. 

3.  Dr.  Mackay’s  account  of  Formosan  native  specifics,  114. 

4.  The  Korean  doctor  and  his  methods,  115. 

5.  Medicine  men  among  the  Ainu  of  Japan,  115. 

6.  Butter  and  incantations  used  in  Thibet,  115,  116. 

7.  Medical  destitution  in  India,  116,  117. 

8.  Empirical  devices  in  Burma,  Laos,  Persia  and  Arabia,  117. 

9.  The  horrors  of  quackery  in  Africa,  117-121. 

(1)  Respective  relation  of  witches  and  witch-doctors  to  evil 
spirits,  1 17,  1 18.  (2)  Power  of  witch-doctors,  118. 

(3)  Their  methods,  118,  119.  (4)  Remedy  for 

witchcraft,  119,  120.  (5)  Burning  remedies  and  fiery 

tonics,  120.  (6)  Warriors  ««  eating  medicine,”  120,  121. 

10.  The  sorcerer’s  art  in  the  Pacific  Islands,  121. 

11.  Superstitious  quacks  among  North  and  South  American  In- 

dians, 1 2 1. 


ANALYTICAL  INDEX 


171 


IV.  Witchcraft,  121-126. 

1.  Witchcraft  as  connected  with  demonology,  121,  122. 

2.  The  spell  of  demons  in  various  realms,  122. 

3.  Arts  of  witchcraft  in  Western  Africa,  123. 

4.  Its  prevalence  in  Central  and  South  Africa,  123,  124. 

5.  Malign  power  of  obeahism  in  the  West  Indies  and  Pacific 

Islands,  124. 

6.  Soul-hunting  in  the  South  seas;  nahak;  kaimasi,  124,  125. 

7.  Demon  possession  and  witchcraft  among  Asiatic  people,  125, 

126. 

[Study  VII.] 

V.  Neglect  of  the  poor  and  sick,  126-129. 

1.  The  compassionate  spirit  of  Christianity,  126,  1 27. 

2.  Philanthropic  needs  of  Japan,  127. 

3.  Superstitious  ideas  concerning  sickness  in  other  countries,  1 27. 

4.  Old  Indian  custom  of  exposing  the  sick  on  the  banks  of  the 

Ganges,  127,  128. 

5.  Treatment  of  the  sick,  suffering  and  insane  in  China;  in 

Korea,  128. 

6.  The  pitiless  fate  of  the  helpless  and  suffering  in  many  lands,  129. 

VI.  Uncivilized  and  cruel  customs,  129-134. 

1.  What  are  the  standards  of  civilization?  129,  130. 

2.  List  of  customs  calling  for  notice,  130. 

3.  Foot-binding  in  China,  130,  131. 

(1)  Its  origin  and  prevalence,  130.  (2)  Its  fruitage,  131. 

(3)  Anti-Foot-Binding  Societies,  13 1. 

4.  Uncleanly  habits,  131. 

5.  Unseemly  nudity,  13 1,  132. 

6.  Tattooing  and  barbaric  use  of  ornaments,  132. 

7.  Promiscuous  bathing  in  Japan,  132. 

8.  Loathsome  diet,  132. 

9.  Prevalence  of  abominable  dances,  133. 

10.  Tainted  asceticism,  133. 

11.  Funeral  orgies,  133. 

12.  Mortuary  custom  of  the  Chinese  and  Parsis,  133,  1 34. 

13.  Burial  rites  in  the  South  Seas,  134. 

VII.  Insanitary  conditions,  134- 138. 

1.  General  insanitary  condition  of  the  non-Christian  world,  135. 

2.  India’s  sanitary  condition,  135- 137. 

(1)  Impure  water,  135.  (2)  Cattle,  135.  (3)  Infant 

death-rate,  136.  (4)  Sanitary  measures  of  the  British 

Government,  136,  137. 

3.  Malodorous  China,  137,  138. 

(1)  Peking,  137.  (2)  Other  parts  of  the  Empire,  137,  138. 

VIII.  Lack  of  public  spirit,  138-140. 

1.  Selfishness  characteristic  of  non-Christian  nations,  138,  139. 

2.  Absence  of  public  spirit  in  China,  139,  140. 

(1)  General  unwillingness  to  help  others,  139.  (2)  Tres- 
passing on  the  rights  of  the  weaker,  139.  (3)  Patriot- 

ism unknown  in  the  Empire,  139. 


172 


ANALYTICAL  INDEX 


IX.  Mutual  suspicion,  140-142. 

1.  Effects  of  mutual  suspicion  and  distrust,  140. 

2.  Every  man  his  own  detective  in  China,  140,  14 1. 

3.  The  distrustful  spirit  in  India,  Persia,  the  South  Seas,  Africa 

and  Madagascar,  14 1,  142. 

[Study  VIII.] 

X.  Poverty,  142- 149. 

1.  The  ceaseless  struggle  for  survival,  142. 

2.  The  genesis  of  poverty ; Christianity’s  relation  to  its  removal, 

142,  143. 

3.  Effect  of  poverty  on  the  social  life,  143. 

4.  Remedial  and  alleviating  forces  instituted  by  Christianity,  143, 

144. 

5.  India’s  recurring  misery,  144-146. 

(1)  Twofold  reason  for  her  impoverishment,  144.  (2)  Fam- 
ines, 144,  145.  (3)  Distressing  conditions  of  poverty, 

145.  (4)  Resolutions  passed  by  the  Indian  National 

Congress,  145,  146. 

6.  Chinese  poverty  and  its  causes,  146-148. 

(1)  Mr.  Richard’s  statement,  146.  (2)  Causes  of  poverty  in 

Shantung,  146,  147.  (3)  Results  of  Chinese  poverty, 

147.  (4)  Famines,  147,  148. 

7.  Causes  of  Korean  poverty,  148. 

8.  Poverty  in  Japan,  Persia  and  Turkey,  148. 

9.  The  horrors  of  African  famine,  148,  149. 

10.  Result  of  this  survey,  149. 

XI.  The  tyranny  of  custom,  149-151. 

1.  Custom  an  impersonal  despot  on  an  invincible  throne,  149. 

2.  Good  and  evil  customs  not  differentiated,  149,  150. 

3.  Custom  a fact  of  great  social  import,  150. 

4.  China’s  homage  to  established  precedents,  150,  15 1. 

5.  Their  influence  in  society,  15 1. 

XII.  Caste,  151-158. 

1.  Caste  versus  social  distinctions,  15 1,  152. 

2.  Its  origin,  152. 

3.  Special  significance  of  caste,  152,  153. 

4.  Its  evolution  into  a social  monstrosity,  153. 

5.  The  overshadowing  mastery  of  caste;  the  Brahman;  number 

of  castes,  153,  154. 

6.  What  can  be  said  in  its  defence  ? Five  replies,  154,  155. 

7.  Thirteen  counts  in  the  indictment  against  caste,  155,  156. 

8.  Social  degradation  of  the  Pariahs ; caste-ridden  Travancore, 

156, 157- 

9.  Some  representative  opinions  on  caste,  157. 

10.  Caste  as  viewed  from  a missionary  standpoint,  157,  158. 

11.  Efforts  to  fix  caste  disabilities  upon  native  Christians,  158. 

12.  Milder  forms  of  caste  spirit  in  other  lands,  158. 


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